 "IPO")
Gearing up for the first-ever IPO by a PSU insurer, New India Assurance will soon be filing preliminary papers with markets regulator Sebi so that it can hit the market by December.
New India Assurance is the largest among the four PSU general insurance companies that are wholly-owned by the government.
"We are hoping that the initial public offer (IPO) process gets completed by the end of the calendar 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, he said, without giving a timeline.
The authorised share capital of the company stood at Rs 300 crore and the paid-up share capital Rs 200 crore as on March 31, 2016. The government holds 100 per cent stake in the company.
New India Assurance has reported a net profit at Rs 1,008 crore in 2016-17, up 22 per cent over the previous year, driven by investment income which whittled down the high underwriting losses.
The insurer, with 16 per cent market share, had a domestic premium income of Rs 19,115 crore, a growth of 27.17 per cent from Rs 15,115 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 per cent in five public insurers -- New India Assurance, National Insurance, United Insurance, Oriental Insurance and reinsurance company General Insurance Corporation -- is looking to raise Rs 11,000 crore by selling its stake in general insurers.
The government had approved dilution of up to 25 per cent equity stake in the five companies in tranches.
New India Assurance and General Insurance Corporation have already appointed bankers and legal advisors.
