South African financial services firm Sanlam has said it is open to increasing its stake in Shriram Life Insurance, a joint venture with the Shriram Group. At present, the Sanlam Group holds 26 per cent stake in the company — the maximum permissible limit according to the current foreign direct investment norms in the insurance industry. The Government is considering increasing the FDI limit in the insurance sector to 49 per cent.
“We would like to increase our stake to 49 per cent. When we signed the agreement we have set it up in such a way that it is possible for us. We have set aside the necessary capital,” said Mr Johan Van Zyl, Chief Executive Officer of the Group. He said, “As soon as the government liberalises, we will immediately start increasing our capital. We are committed to the Indian market.”
The company which has been in operations just over three years is aiming to increase its new premium income business to about Rs 1,000 crore by the end of the next three years.
At present, its new premium income is about Rs 200 crore.
The Shriram Group Chairman, Mr R. Thyagarajan, said, “We are focusing on new products and new customer segments. The growth in the new premium income would be mainly with our new product of future wealth which will be unit-linked insurance plan.”
The company plans to launch a zero pension product and a new child policy during the year, said Mr Gerhard Joubert, CEO of the new channel business of the company in the north, west and east of India. He, however, did not reveal further details of the products.
The company plans to recruit a field sales force of 5,000 and 500 business managers over the next 3-4 years.
Source: The Hindu Businessline