Regulator lets insurance companies buy green bonds as infrastructure investments

Insurance Companies - Invest

India’s top industry authority will classify the purchases as an investment into domestic infrastructure. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has announced that insurance companies will be permitted to treat their sovereign green bond purchases as the equivalent to making infrastructure investments. The regulator recently released the decision in a circular, including its purpose for making it. In the circular, the regulator said that it made the decision to allow insurance companies to categorize their green bond purchases this way for the purpose of “de-concentration and diversification” of…

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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…

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India’s government approved major insurance industry overhaul

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Economic measure receives approval from the Indian Parliament India’s insurance industry is in for an overhaul, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has passed his first major economic reform a year after coming to power. The Indian Parliament has voted  to pass a measure that would have a major impact on the domestic insurance industry, allowing foreign investors to participate in the sector. The measure will increase the investments that foreign parties can make into local companies, which may be a boon for smaller companies that offer certain kinds of coverage.…

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Indian government approves ordinance for the insurance industry

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Ordinance aims to allow foreign companies to hold a stronger position in the Indian insurance industry The Indian government has been mulling over an ordinance concerning the insurance industry for some time. The issue involves allowing foreign insurance companies to hold greater ownership over local domestic insurance endeavors. Some lawmakers had suggested that this would be a bad move for the domestic market, making it more difficult for domestic companies to compete in India or changing how these companies operate altogether. Supporters of the measure suggested that foreign companies could…

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South Asian Insurance industry suffering massive losses from cyclones

south asian Insurance industry India

Weather coverage segment may be seeing loss ratios as high as 100 percent. Damage to crops that has occurred as a result of cyclones could be leading to higher loss ratios in the weather South Asian insurance industries, with predictions that they could be as high as 100 percent, this year. Cyclone Phailin has caused a tremendous loss ratio this year when it struck in October. The crop damage that was caused by Cyclone Phailin when it struck the coast of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh early in October may lead…

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