Re-insurer acquisition called 'Best Vietnam Deal 2008'

Hanoi (VNA) - Swiss Re's 79 million USD acquisition of a 25-percent stake in the Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (VinaRe) has been named Best Vietnam Deal for 2008 by Finance Asia, a Hong Kong-based publication that presents achievement awards for the region each year.

The awards, known worldwide, recognise 'deals' as including equity
offerings, mergers and acquisitions or a bond issue on Asian stock market.

The Swiss Re acquisition was notable as the first major strategic
investment by a global player in Vietnam 's reinsurance sector, the
magazine said.

"Swiss Re, a global reinsurer operating in 25 countries, had already had a
business relationship with VinaRe for more than a decade, but with the
investment that relationship expanded to include Swiss Re offering the
Vietnamese company technical assistance across all its businesses, with a
focus on further enhancing its reinsurance capabilities," wrote the
magazine.

According to Finance Asia, the deal also helped solidify Credit Suisse's
position as the leading investment bank in Vietnam .

The magazine also noted the participation of the legal advisors to the
deal, which included local firm Vision Law and foreign law firm Russin &
Vecchi.

Recognition as part of the Best Vietnam Deal 2008 should also help promote
the domestic reinsurance market to overseas investors, VinaRe said on its
website.
In addition to the Swiss Re-VinaRe deal in Vietnam , the magazine
also recognised Chinalco's 14 billion USD acquisition in Rio Tinto in China
, Estisalat's 900 million USD acquisition in Swan Telecom in India , and
Petronas' 2.5 billion USD acquisition in the Gladstone LNG project in
Malaysia.-Enditem