Sun Life to enter equity mart

The Canada-based Sun Life Financial, with funds under management in excess of $150 billion, proposes to invest in the Indian equity market.

A month back, the Sunlife asset management team was in India looking at the opportunities of investment here.

"There is immense potential for our Canadian investors to look at the Indian market. We are in early stages of discussion but there are plans of setting up a Canadian fund investing in India," Thomas Reid, head investor relations, Sun Life Financial told Business Standard in a teleconference from Canada.

This follows the recent acquisition by Sun Life of acquiring an insurance entity in Hong Kong.

"There has been constant dialogue regarding the opportunities of investing in India. About 18-24 months back, there was a curiosity about India, but one did not act. Today we are beginning to see major interest of actual investments taking place," said Reid.

Sun Life Financial has two joint ventures in India, both in partnership with the Aditya Birla group "" Birla Sun Life Insurance Company and Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company.

Speaking on possible acquisitions in India, Reid said: "We are waiting for the final approval for the acquisition of Alliance Capital mutual fund, as this would fit in well with our business and growth plans to be among the top three in any market."

On the possibility of Birla Sun Life acquiring AMP Sanmar, Reid said: "There is no strategic need for acquisition (in the insurance sector) as we are growing rapidly, and an acquisition today would be a great risk and could interrupt our organic growth plans. This is because it takes time to integrate an acquisition in terms of systems."

Sun Life is gung-ho on the Indian insurance joint venture, as Gary M Comerford, vice president and general manager (India), Sun Life Financial, said: "We are selling more here in value terms than our 130-year-old Canadian operations. We expect to sell over 1 million policies by the end of the fiscal."

India is the fastest growing region in Asia, which is seen as the engine of long term growth for the Canadian-based company.