Birla Global To Hold 10% In Group Insurance Venture

S K Birla, managing director of Birla Global Finance Ltd, said that while Birla Global will contribute 10 per cent to the Rs 100-crore equity of the insurance venture, 64 per cent will be chipped in by other A V Birla group companies. The balance stake will be held by Sun Life, in accordance with the guidelines of the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). Mitra said the application for entering into life insurance will be forwarded to the IRDA within the next few days.

At present, all expenses connected with setting up the insurance company are being borne by Birla Global, and Mitra says that that will continue so long as expenses remain in the pre-operative stage.

 

Sun Life, the Canadian financial services group, had signed a joint venture agreement with the Aditya Birla group for the establishment of a life insurance business. Mitra said the life insurance business has a natural synergy with other areas of its services. He said that non-life business is more of an industrial operation. Sun Life has since become the Aditya Birla group's chosen joint venture partner across the spectrum of financial services., with 50:50 partnerships in the areas of mutual fund management, securities brokerage and marketing and distribution of financial services.

Sun Life has a long history in India, with the company selling life insurance policies as early as 1892 until the nationalisation of the insurance business in 1956. Sun Life is also a major provider of financial services to South Asians in both North America and the UK