Insurance cos should go for listing for raising capital: Irdai

Mumbai: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has asked insurance companies to go for listing to improve their access to capital, its Chairman Debasish Panda said on Thursday.

The listing will help insurance players to raise capital for growing their business and also deepening the insurance penetration in the country, he said. "We are asking insurance companies to go for listing so that they can have access to the capital. Today, with the LIC's listing, close to 60 per cent of the market gets listed. "That brings in a lot of transparency, disclosures and access to the market to raise capital. This will help them grow and our ultimate target of deepening insurance penetration will happen," Panda, who took over the charge of Irdai Chairman last month, told reporters.

The chairman was in Mumbai on a two-day visit starting April 6 to meet various stakeholders of the insurance industry.

Meanwhile, the insurance sector regulator has sought revised business plans from three state-owned general insurance companies - National Insurance Company Ltd, United India Insurance Company Ltd and Oriental Insurance Company Ltd - that are facing financial issues, Irdai Member (Non-life) TM Alamelu said on Thursday.

"The three state-owned general insurance players will have to meet certain regulatory milestones, set by the regulator to be able to get fund infusion," added Alamelu.

Panda, the former financial services secretary, said the insurance regulator is nudging the players for listing and will also facilitate them in the process. "We will also ask them to give us a road map on what time they will be able to go for a listing. It is a multi-pronged strategy so that they have easy access to capital," he said. The regulator is also revisiting the current investment norms that have been laid down and will look at relaxing some of the regulations to remove any bottleneck for insurance companies in getting more capital, Panda said. In February this year, the government had filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with markets regulator Sebi for Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) initial public offering. Sebi had approved the mega IPO proposal of LIC in March. The government is expecting to garner over Rs 60,000 crore by selling about 31.6 crore or 5 per cent stake in state-owned life insurer.

We are asking insurance companies to go for listing so that they can have access to the capital. Today, with the LIC's listing, close to 60% of the market gets listed

- Debasish Panda, chairman, Irdai