New Delhi: Gearing up for the first-ever initial public offer (IPO) by a state-run insurer, New India Assurance will soon be filing preliminary papers with markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) so that it can hit the market by December.

New India Assurance is the largest among the four general insurance companies that are wholly-owned by the government.

“We are hoping that the initial public offer process gets completed by the end of the calender year if market conditions are favourable," New India Assurance chairman-cum-managing director G. Srinivasan told PTI.

The company is in the process of filing the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for the proposed issue. The DRHP should be filed soon, Srinivasan said, without giving a timeline.

The authorised share capital of the company stood at Rs300 crore and the paid-up share capital at Rs200 crore as on 31 March 2016. The government holds 100% stake in the company.

New India Assurance has reported a net profit at Rs1,008 crore in 2016-17, up 22% over 2016, driven by investment income which whittled down the high underwriting losses.

The insurer, with 16% market share, had a domestic premium income of Rs19,115 crore, a growth of 27.17% from Rs15,115 crore a year before.

Headquartered in Mumbai, New India Assurance is the only Indian entity to have a trading desk at Lloyd’s of London, the provider of specialist insurance services.

In January this year, the Union cabinet had approved the listing of general insurance companies on stock markets.

The government, which currently holds 100% stake in five public insurers—New India Assurance, National Insurance, United Insurance, Oriental Insurance and reinsurance company General Insurance Corporation—is looking to raise Rs11,000 crore by selling its stake in general insurers.

The government had approved dilution of up to 25% equity stake in the five companies in tranches. New India Assurance and General Insurance Corporation have already appointed bankers and legal advisors.

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