AXA Group hikes stake in insurance JVs with Bharti Enterprises

French insurer AXA has increased its stake in life and general insurance joint ventures with Bharti Enterprises in India.
Bharti AXA Life Insurance (Bharti AXA Life) and Bharti AXA General Insurance (Bharti AXA GI) are the JVs, in which the foreign shareholding by AXA Group has been hiked to the maximum permissible limit of 49 per cent in the sector.
The government has already approved AXA's raising of stake in Bharti AXA Life for Rs 858.6 crore and that in Bharti AXA GI for Rs 431.40 crore.
Together, AXA's investment in Bharti group will be worth Rs 1,290 crore.
"This operation further strengthens the existing partnership between Bharti and AXA in India, and demonstrates the agility and commitment of both parties in further expanding their operations in the country," said the joint statement issued by AXA and Bharti Enterprises.

In 2014-15, Bharti AXA Life recorded Rs 4.7 billion (or Euro 70 million) of new business collected premiums, an yearly growth of 28 per cent on an average over the past 3 years.

While, Bharti AXA GI recorded Rs 14.6 billion (or Euro 214 million) of gross direct premiums, achieving a growth of 18 per cent on an average over the past 3 years, it said.
"This transaction confirms AXA's long-term commitment towards the Indian insurance market and is another step in our development in Asia."
"India is one of the most dynamic insurance markets in the world and we remain fully confident in the capacity of our joint ventures. Our long-standing partnership with Bharti, a leading Indian conglomerate, positions us ideally to succeed in this highly promising market", said AXA Asia CEO Jean-Louis Laurent Josi.

"This is a significant milestone in the journey of the Bharti-AXA joint ventures, and underlines the partnership's long-term commitment to the Indian market.
"We remain committed to servicing our customers through innovative and quality product solutions," said Bharti Enterprises Managing Director and CFO Rahul Bhatnagar.