Hanwha Life Insurance, South Korea's oldest life insurer and a flagship financial subsidiary of the Hanwha Group conglomerate, reported that its major overseas businesses generated a combined net profit of 103 billion won ($72.7 million) in the first half, approaching the 117.8 billion won recorded for all of last year, as the company's strategy to diversify beyond insurance begins to deliver results.

Overseas operations accounted for approximately 11 percent of Hanwha Life's consolidated net profit of 904.5 billion won during the six-month period, a notable shift for a company historically rooted in domestic life insurance and reflective of a broader push by Korean financial institutions to tap faster-growing Southeast Asian and US markets.

The company's Vietnamese life insurance unit posted a net profit of 32 billion won, representing a 23 percent increase from 26 billion won a year earlier. This growth was driven by improved insurance margins and stronger investment income, supported by higher local interest rates.

Newly added banking and securities businesses contributed significantly to the overall performance. US brokerage Velocity Clearing and Indonesia's Nobu Bank each recorded 29 billion won in first-half net profit. Velocity Clearing benefited from higher interest income and stronger investment returns amid favorable conditions in US financial markets, while Nobu Bank saw improved interest income driven by an expanding mortgage lending portfolio, along with growth in fee income.

These results reflect Hanwha Life's broader effort to construct a diversified overseas financial portfolio spanning insurance, banking, and securities, a strategy that mirrors moves by other major Korean financial groups seeking revenue streams beyond a mature and competitive home market.

For the second half of the year, the company intends to expand bancassurance partnerships in Vietnam and Indonesia to further solidify its earnings base.

"Our early push for global expansion and portfolio diversification is beginning to bear fruit, putting our global business on a stable growth trajectory," a Hanwha Life official said. "We will continue to strengthen our sustainable earnings base and enhance our presence in global markets."

Hanwha Life's overall earnings also improved significantly in the first half. Consolidated net profit rose 96 percent year-on-year to 904.5 billion won, while standalone net profit nearly tripled to 510.2 billion won, supported by stronger insurance and investment earnings.