Metlife undergoing company wide digital transformation

KMS launches electronic know-your-customer platform for Southeast Asian banks

March 4, 2021 by bizhub.vn

A KMS office in the US. — Photo courtesy of KMS Technology

KMS Solutions, a subsidiary of US engineering and software services company KMS Technology, has launched an electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) platform targeting Southeast Asia’s banking sector.

It automates the verification, identification and extraction of data from images and documents.

Le Huu Tan Tai, digital banking solution director at KMS Solutions, said: “Banking needs to stand at the forefront of digital transformation as it directly impacts the economy at large. However, Southeast Asia, and Viet Nam in particular, still faces certain challenges when undertaking digital banking.

“Thanks to our experience in implementing digital banking for established banks across the world, KMS is well-positioned to support banks in the region with accelerating their digital transformation faster, more effectively and more securely.”

eKYC allows banks to reduce the time needed to verify customer’s information, which otherwise might take days to weeks using traditional methods.

Customers will no longer have to wait in long queues at counters because all the processes are done online.

The solution is researched and developed based on 4.0 technologies such as optical character recognition, face matching, liveness detection, and artificial intelligence.

Le Tran Bao Duy, general director of KMS Solutions, said, “As banks, financial institutions, e-wallets, and securities companies in Viet Nam are actively going digital, the prospects for eKYC solutions are huge.”

eKYC could support at least 35 per cent of the automation process at banks in Viet Nam by 2025, he added. — VNS

Hanwha Life Vietnam inks co-operation deal with Pharmacity

March 4, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

According to the MoU, Pharmacity will become a partner in the customer care network of Hanwha Life. Customers of Hanwha Life Vietnam will be able to access the benefits provided from this collaboration as well as experience policy owner services such as premium payments at the system of over 500 drugstores of Pharmacity nationwide via payment service providers like Payoo, Momo, and VNPay. About 450 staff members and 44,000 agents of Hanwha Life will be the recipients of the incentives of Pharmacity.

hanwha life vietnam inks co operation deal with pharmacity

The MoU with Pharmacity also aims to realise Hanwha Life’s mission to build a comprehensive life solution for customers in Vietnam

As a life insurance company pioneering co-operating with a leading healthcare partner, Im Dong Jun, CEO cum chairman of the Member Council of Hanwha Life Vietnam, said, “Healthcare is an essential part of our business, considering its nature. Particularly in the context of the pandemic, human health has become a great concern for most people and the whole society. With a hope to bring more benefits and healthcare services to customers to improve their quality of life, Hanwha Life Vietnam has tried to intensify its co-operation with reliable healthcare partners, including Pharmacity.”

In 2021, Hanwha Life continues to strive to become the most reliable life insurance company and aims to bring optimal life solutions to customers.

“I believe that this mutual endeavour will create a more comprehensive healthcare service to the customers of both parties. Pharmacity’s customers will be able to access Hanwha Life’s financial protection solutions, whereas Hanwha Life’s customers, staff members, and agents will have access to medicines and better healthcare services from Pharmacity. To make this happen in a more customer-friendly environment, Hanwha Life and Pharmacity will continue to further collaborate to integrate its customer service platforms,” added Im Dong Jun.

Chris Blank, CEO of Pharmacity, said, “We are glad to join hands with Hanwha Life, a leading life insurance company from South Korea, to take care of and improve the health of the Vietnamese people. With a network of over 500 pharmacies in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Can Tho, and Danang, together with professional, thoughtful pharmacists, we are confident that Pharmacity will bring the best services to customers. The co-operation with a life insurer having a wide network of offices like Hanwha Life and its sister companies will also help us materialise the target of having 1,000 drugstores by the end of this year.”

Pharmacity is one of the leading drugstore chains in Vietnam with a network of over 500 pharmacies

As a life insurance company endeavouring to meet the ever-changing demands of customers, Hanwha Life is strengthening co-operation with its numerous partners in health, banking, and fintech, and with technology companies so that customers can experience Hanwha Life’s products in their daily life. Earlier, in December 2020, Hanwha Life signed a co-operation deal with Gene Solutions, a leading company in genetics in Vietnam.

With the motto of customer-centricity, Hanwha Life is boosting investment in improving customer experience. Along with the co-operation with many partners in many fields, the company is accelerating the digitisation of its sales network.

Recently, Hanwha Life Vietnam has launched the LIME mobile app to improve services for customers. In addition, the company has also developed many different tools to support its business system professionally and effectively in the digital technology environment concerning recruitment, policy management, and staff training, which are important for its business.

Despite the strong impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hanwha Life Vietnam maintained stable business and sustainable growth in 2020, with total premium revenue of nearly VND3.4 trillion ($147.83 million), up 20 per cent on-year, and profit estimated at over VND300 billion ($13 million).

This is the first time that Hanwha Life Vietnam has earned profits for two consecutive years. In 2021, Hanwha Life continues to strive to become the most reliable life insurance company and aims to bring optimal life solutions to customers. At present, Hanwha Life Vietnam has more than 170 customer service points, over 44,000 financial consultants, and 450 staff members serving more than 600,000 customers countrywide.

By Anh Duc

HCMC focusing on training AI human resources

March 4, 2021 by sggpnews.org.vn

According to the comprehensive plan to develop the IT human resources, Vietnam needed 1 million workers in the IT field in 2020. Yet the reality shows that there are only 600,000 IT students being trained in 400 higher educational institutes and 8 key IT training centers nationwide.

Statistics from the Institute of Information Technology Strategy (under the Ministry of Information & Communications) show that 72 percent of IT students lack practical experience, while 42 percent are weak at team work. Only 15 percent of IT graduates satisfy the demands of employers.

Vietnam now has over 700 IT companies working in key fields of the IT industry, including 220 foreign ones. They mostly locate in major cities or software parks.

Notably, despite a high job potential, the AI field still attracts little attention from both learners and trainers. There is no formal university department or school to specifically provide tertiary education in this field. Most curriculum focus on software developing, which is a rather old trend of the previous decade. This calls for a serious curriculum redesign to answer the current needs of IT companies, both domestic and international.

There should be an establishment of AI departments in universities or the development of such majors as computer vision, natural language processing, Big Data, robotics. Tertiary educational institutes should cooperate with IT businesses for internship programs, career guiding fairs, academic challenges, and training equipment provision (like server clusters, computing clusters, GPU, robots, IoT devices).

Experts voiced that in order for HCMC to own sufficient core AI human resources, the municipal authorities must first identify the market needs and the ability to apply research result in reality. They then have to actively link the development of smart city, innovative urban areas with the growth of talented AI employees.

These actions will gradually form a complete AI ecosystem so that HCMC can transform into a database center of the whole Southeast Asian region in 2030, and of the world in the far future.

There must be clear short-term as well as long-term strategies to turn HCMC into a smart city, including the three key points of research and training, technology mastering, and innovation promotion.

Regarding the first key point, more investment should be pour into the AI field via supporting funds, collaboration with national and international partners to take advantage of all possible strengths.

A kind of ‘shared university’ for AI training could be formed, where educational facilities are located in one place, and the teaching staff or research teams come to perform their tasks. This model does need specific policies to regulate particular responsibilities and rights of each partner, as well as the role of the municipal authorities in the project.

Director of Vietnam National University – HCMC Vu Hai Quan stated that the potential of key AI research teams directly shape the training direction for new AI workers. They are the model for the young generations to look up to.

Therefore, the AI human resources training project should consist of financial aid for major AI research teams to expand their study in various fields, the construction of AI labs, the organization of academic contests about AI to tackle existing problems in the community.

These actions will no doubt increase the position of Vietnam in the global AI top list and the awareness of AI importance in the society.

By Thanh Hung – Translated by Thanh Tam

Nestlé launches NAN OPTIPRO

March 4, 2021 by bizhub.vn

Nestle has launched the NAN OPTIPRO with HMO and OPTIPRO protein and began a programme called ‘Moments of Amazing Kid Growth’ that seeks inspirational stories about the amazing growth journey of Vietnamese children aged two to six. — Photo courtesy of the company

Nestle has launched the NAN OPTIPRO with HMO and OPTIPRO protein.

HMOs are the third most abundant solids in breast milk and scientifically proven to boost children’s immunity.

Tanti Ermawati, business executive officer of Nestle Vietnam Infant Nutrition, said: “With the relaunch of HMO-added NAN OPTIPRO, we look forward to bringing a comprehensive nutritional solution for children and helping nurture their full potential.”

To mark the launch, the company began a programme called ‘Moments of Amazing Kid Growth’ that seeks inspirational stories about the amazing growth journey of Vietnamese children aged two to six through stories of hands.

Singer Phuong Vy, the brand ambassador for Nestle NAN, said: “The hands are a subtle metaphorical image of a child’s amazing growth. Children learn and explore the world through their hands. The movements of touching, grabbing and feeling are the child’s first and basic interactions with the world around them.

“To me, every amazing growing moment of my child is priceless. I am grateful for those moments and thank NAN for sharing a meaningful programme that reminds me of my wonderful journey of motherhood and my kid’s amazing growth.”

The programme will be organised from March 22 to April 30 at https://www.nestlemomandme.vn/en .

Mothers can join the programme and share their kids’ growth moments.

NAN OPTIRPO is distributed nation-wide through supermarkets, mother and baby shops, big milk stores, and e-commerce platforms. — VNS

Facebook, Google, YouTube likely obliged to pay taxes in Vietnam

March 4, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Crafted by the Ministry of Finance, the draft circular guides the implementation of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration and Decree No 126/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government providing further guidance on its execution.

Overseas suppliers who have no permanent establishment but conduct e-commerce or digital-based business activities and derive income from individuals and organisations in Vietnam shall still be treated as permanent entities in the country.

They shall be obliged to make online tax registrations and declarations on the General Department of Taxation’s official portal, and be allowed to open more than one bank account for making tax payments but have one email only to receive tax notifications.

The draft circular also stipulates the obligation of banks and payment intermediary service companies to define transaction accounts of foreign suppliers who have no permanent establishment in Vietnam to withhold taxes.

Source: VNA