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Insurance companies must hold 3-year profit track record to go for IPO: SEBI

26 Jul 2012 Evaluate

Life insurance companies in India planning to raise money from the capital market through initial public offers have got a setback, as the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (Sebi) has turned down an IRDA proposal seeking relaxation of the profitability criterion for insurance companies planning an initial public offering.

A preliminary discussion paper on this matter was placed before the SEBI Committee on Disclosures and Accounting Standards (SCODA) in its meeting held on August 24, 2009. In this regard, SCODA formed a sub-group to review the existing provisions of SEBI (ICDR) Regulations and also to examine whether insurance companies need to make any additional disclosures.

IRDA had represented for relaxation from eligibility requirement (i.e. profitability criteria), stating that insurance companies may find it difficult to comply since gestation period of life insurance business is comparatively longer, and it takes around 6 to 7 years for a life insurer to achieve break even. But SEBI decided that there is no need to provide relaxation from the eligibility criteria since companies which do not comply with the profitability criteria can still raise capital through compulsory book building process as per SEBI (ICDR) Regulations.

Regarding other issues raised by IRDA too, SCODA has made its recommendation, it said that the advertisements made by insurance companies being statutory advertisements, may be as per the provisions of SEBI (ICDR) Regulations only. It also said that placing restriction for issuance of partly-paid shares, through subordinate legislation may not be appropriate and may not also be legally tenable.

Though, Sebi's observations will not have an immediate impact on the insurance industry since no company has made plans for an initial public offering till now, however many of them were waiting for relaxation in norms, mainly the foreign direct investment norms.

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