AXA Asia plans hiking stake in Bharti Axa Life

Our Corporate Bureau
05 January 2007

Kolkata: AXA Asia Pacific Holdings plans to raise its stake in Bharti AXA Life Insurance (Bharti-Axa) to 49 per cent from the present 26 per cent.

Bharti-AXA is a 74:26 JV between Bharti Enterprises and France's AXA Group. However, this depends on whether the government decides to raise the FDI sectoral cap in insurance from the present 26 percent to 49 percent. The Insurance Bill is likely to be placed before the Parliament in budget session.

In the coming weeks, the promoters plan to increase Bharti-Axa's Rs 150 crore equity base by Rs 40 crore to Rs 190 crore. The equity infusion will be in proportion to their respective holdings.

Bharti-Axa in recent times has been bundling life insurance products with phone connections offered by Bharti group.

Bharti-Axa has also decided to sell its policies at discounts to some 30,000-odd employees of the Bharti group. It is also in the process of designing group insurance policies for covering all employees of its group companies.