Indian carriers not to be affected by AIG crash
19 Sep 2008
The US government's bail-out of American International Group Inc (AIG) will have pleased some airlines in India, as Tata-AIG (a joint venture between the Tata Group and AIG, in which the former owns 74% and AIG the rest) is a lead insurer for airlines like Delhi-based low cost carrier SpiceJet and Mumbai-based GoAir.
Industry analysts said that carriers such as GoAir and SpiceJet have no reason to panic as the Tata Group's 74 per cent stake in the venture ensures that interest of policy holders will not suffer. They also said that the Tatas could even buy out the minority stake in the venture.
Unnamed officials from AIG's India office have been quoted as saying that the financial crisis at AIG will not pose any immediate threat to its India operations. They said that infusion of new capital would ensure that there was no solvency ratio problem for any of their operations.
A press release issued by AIG on Wednesday evening stated that the group's insurance businesses worldwide and including Asia continue to operate normally and remain adequately capitalised and fully capable of meeting obligations to policyholders.
