Cholamandalam MS General Insurance likely to go public in five years: MD

The insurer aims to grow 1.25x of industry rate in FY26, reduce motor share and touch Rs 10,000 crore premium this year, with an IPO likely within five years

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance, a joint venture between the Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, is likely to list on the bourses via an initial public offering (IPO) within next five years, V.  Suryanarayanan, Managing Director (MD) of the company said.

 

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has been nudging insurance companies of a particular size and age to list themselves on the bourses to ensure better transparency and value for investors and policyholders.

 

“If one were to look at a five-year view of Cholamandalam, in five years, we can expect this to be a listed company,” Suryanarayanan said.

 

 

Currently, five life insurance companies are listed — Life Insurance Corporation, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Max Life Insurance (through Max Financial Services). Five general insurance companies have also gone public — New India Assurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Star Health & Allied Insurance, Niva Bupa Health Insurance and Go Digit General Insurance. Additionally, state-owned reinsurer General Insurance Corporation is listed.

 

The multi-line general insurer recorded a profit of Rs 143.9 crore in January-March quarter of FY25 (Q4 FY25), 112 per cent up Year-on-Year (YoY) from Rs 67.8 crore. The gross direct premium income of the insurer was Rs 8,124.31 crore in FY25, 7.85 per cent higher than Rs 7532.89 crore in the year ago period.

 

In FY26, the company aims to grow at 1.25 times the industry rate and plans to touch the Rs 10,000 crore premium mark with more focus on commercial lines.

 

“The business teams are charged to try and get it this year. But it all depends on how the market actually shapes itself. So that is the way we wanted to look at the year. But the first two months, I should admit, the industry growth is not giving that vibe. Still, I am sure as a team we would like to get closer and get past that mark,” Suryanarayanan said.

 

The company also plans to achieve Rs 20,000 crore in premium and a 5 per cent market share by FY30. In five years, it plans to diversify further and reduce its dependence on the dominant segment — motor insurance — which accounts for nearly 64 per cent of its total business. Suryanarayanan said the company plans to reduce this to 55 per cent and increase the share of its commercial lines to 25 per cent from 17 per cent currently. 

Three IPOs off to mixed start

 

The three initial public offerings (IPOs) that opened on Tuesday received mixed response from investors. Globe Civil Projects' IPO garnered over 6x subscription, while that of Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases and Kalpataru were subscribed close to 10 per cent each. This week is the busiest for the IPO market with five issues worth over Rs 15,000 crore getting lined up. 

 

- BS Reporter