Redesigned IPO norms for insurance companies soon

Hyderabad: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) is expected to issue redesigned guidelines applicable to insurance companies going for initial public offerings (IPO) soon.

“We started working on some changes in the existing norms for the IPO. We will come out with those norms in a month or so,” Irdai Chairman T S Vijayan said here on Wednesday.

According to recent reports, HDFC Standard Life and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance have approached the insurance regulator for approval to divest equity through the IPO route. The regulator is expected to clear these requests once the redesigned guidelines are in place.

According to Vijayan, the Indian insurance sector has received investments worth around Rs 15,000 crore after the passage of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill. Under the amended law, the Centre has raised the upper limit of foreign direct investment in insurance companies to 49 per cent from the earlier 26 per cent.

“Since the Bill was passed, a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore has come to India in various forms. It is equity only and there may be some premium on equity also,” Vijayan added.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.