HDFC to divest 10 percent stake in insurance arm

Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) on Wednesday said it intends to sell up to 10 percent stake in its life insurance arm by way of an initial public offer when market conditions are favourable.

The development financial institution held a 61.3 percent stake in the non-listed HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company as on March 31, and said in a regulatory filing with the bourses that it intended to retain it as a subsidiary after the public offer.

For the financial year ended March 31, HDFC Life had a gross premium income of Rs.16,313 crore and a total income of Rs.17,954 crore. The profit-after-tax was Rs.818 crore, while the net worth was reported at Rs.3,150 crore.

The announcement on divestment was made just before the opening bell at Indian bourses on Wednesday. The shares of the company rose Rs.20.75 or 1.84 percent at Rs.1,148.05, within minutes after trading started on the BSE.

HDFC Life is a joint venture between the Indian financial institution and Standard Life, a global long-term investment savings player with headquarters at Edinburgh in Britain, that had a revenue of nearly $13 billion in 2015.

Earlier this year, HDFC had concluded the sale of another 9 percent stake in HDFC Life to Standard Life for around Rs.1,700 crore, to take the British company's holding to 35 percent from the earlier 26 percent.

This had valued HDFC Life at around Rs.18,500 crore. The group now hopes for a valuation of around Rs.22,500 crore during the public offer.