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RCap scouts bank, insurance partners
Anil Ambani-led financial services major Reliance Capital Ltd is scouting for an insurance and banking partner for Reliance General Insurance and Reliance Life Insurance, respectively.
Anil Ambani-led financial services major Reliance Capital Ltd is scouting for an insurance and banking partner for Reliance General Insurance and Reliance Life Insurance, respectively.
Reliance Capital is looking to induct a strategic partner in its general insurance business by the year-end, with a possible sale of a 26% stake.
“We are looking for either a foreign insurance major or a private equity major which can bring in expertise and collaboration. We want to complete the process of bringing a partner into our general insurance outfit in the next two quarters or by the year-end,” Sam Ghosh, CEO, Reliance Capital CEO told HT.
Reliance General Insurance Co Ltd (RGICL), non-life insurer, clocked a profit of R17 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2013 against a loss of R248 crore in the same quarter a year ago. This was the second consecutive quarter for RGICL during 2012-13 in which the company made profit.
“We are expecting the general insurance business to show a profit for the whole financial year. We expect gross written premium to at least grow by over 20%,” Ghosh said.
Reliance Capital is the parent company of a number of financial services firms —including Reliance Life Insurance Co Ltd, Reliance Capital Asset Management Co Ltd, Reliance Commercial Finance Co Ltd, apart from RGICL.
Reliance Capital is looking for a bank for its life insurance business. Reliance Life Insurance is an agency-driven company and does not have bancassurance (bank insurance model) distribution channel.
“For Reliance Life Insurance business, profits have been flat and new business premiums have come down. However, our new business margins have grown to 20% So, the profits in the future will be much higher than current year’s profits,” said Ghosh.
