Tencent takes more of Indian insurance market with 10% Policybazaar stake purchase

Indian Insurance Market - Tencent HQ

The Chinese tech giant has acquired a minority state in the home, auto and life comparison company.

Tencent Holding Ltd. has just taken more of its first steps into the Indian insurance market with an acquisition of a 10 percent stake of Indian online insurance aggregator Policybazaar. This values the Indian company at $1.5 billion.

The Chinese technology giant has been working to grab a piece of India’s growing insurance sector.

The 10 percent Policybazaar stake was obtained through a purchase of half of Tiger Global Management LLC’s stake in the Indian company, reported Bloomberg. The report was citing an Indian insurance market source who requested not to be identified but who was familiar with the matter. The source added that the deal was signed last week for $150 million.

Tencent is best known for its massively popular WeChat messenger app. This company has clearly spotted the potential in India’s insurance sector as it has been aggressively investing in start-ups within that country’s sector. The company is known for stepping into a spectrum of different technology-based areas, including everything from the Byju education platform, the Swiggy food delivery platform, and the Ola ride-hailing service.

Now Tencent has been looking at start-ups in the Indian insurance market, such as Policybazaar.com.

Earlier this year, the Shenzhen based firm also made its way into the explosively growing fintech sector. This included several investments into digital banking services expected to shake up the industry, such as NiYo Solutions.

At the time this article was written, Policybazaar declined the opportunity to provide an immediate comment. Equally, Tencent had not responded to efforts to seek comments via email or call. Similarly, Tiger Global was not immediately replying to emails for comment.

Policybazaar provides online users with comparison tools for purchasing health, auto and life insurance policies directly through its own website without the need for third parties or intermediaries. It is operated by ETech Aces Indian Insurance Market - Tencent HQMarketing and Consulting Pvt and is among the Indian insurance market start-ups aiming to disrupt the industry in the country currently dominated by bank-promoted and state-owned insurers.

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