Sanmar To Join Hands With Gio For Insurance Foray

GIO is the largest general insurance company in Australia with a market capitalisation of about Australian $1.5 billion.

The company, a major player in the Australian life insurance and re-insurance business, hopes to improve its presence in south-east Asia through the tie-up.

Sanmar has also tied up with GIO for setting up an asset management company, to be christened GIO Sanmar Asset Management Company.

The proposal has been approved by Foreign Investment Promotion Board. Another company, GIO Sanmar Gilts, is to be set up for trading in bonds.

For Sanmar, it will be the first tie-up with an Australian company. The other 15 joint ventures are with European and American companies.

 

Initially, GIO and Sanmar will set up the asset management company and the debt-trading company with equal stake for both partners, although the latter has yet to get the FIPB approval.

The proposed alliance will be taken up once the sector is opened up for private participation. The AMC will have a paid-up capital of Rs10 crore, while it will be Rs 5 crore for the debt-trading company.