India's largest insurer LIC opens Bangladesh unit
India's state-run Life Insurance Corporation launched Bangladesh operations yesterday as part of its plan to widen its international footprint.
The company formed a joint venture with Strategic Equity Management Ltd (SEML) and Mutual Trust Bank for its Bangladesh operations, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement.
“The corporation has a vision to expand its life Insurance business throughout the country,” said the statement.
LIC has introduced five insurance schemes in Bangladesh and plans to bring in more products with attractive features in future.
The new company's authorised capital is Tk 100 crore while paid-up capital Tk 60 crore, according to LIC Bangladesh's website.
Mutual Trust Bank has bought a 3 percent stake in LIC's Bangladesh venture, while SEML, a fund management company, bought 7 percent shares.
M Shefaque Ahmed, chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), and VK Sharma, acting chairman of LIC, spoke at the inauguration programme at Radisson Blu Hotel in Dhaka.
Syed Manzur Elahi, chairman of Apex Group, Adarsh Swaika, deputy high commissioner of Indian High Commission in Dhaka, and Benazir Ahmed, director-general of the Rapid Action Battalion, were also present.
A total of 77 insurance companies are operating in Bangladesh, of which, 46 are non-life, including one state-owned company. There are 31 life insurers, including state-run Jiban Bima Corporation.
In December last year, LIC received a licence from the IDRA to operate in Bangladesh, becoming the first foreign company to have received the licence to run the life insurance business here. LIC is present in 15 countries, including Singapore, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bahrain.
In Bangladesh, insurance penetration has been declining in recent years, even though the country's major economic indicators have been growing steadily for over a decade now.
Overall insurance penetration, both life and non-life, stood at 0.72 percent in 2015, down from 1.13 percent in 2010, according to Swiss Re, a leading global reinsurer. Insurance penetration was 3.4 percent in India last year.
Comments