document.writeln("

LIC group insurance business up 9 per cent
Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India's group insurance business rose nine per cent up to Rs1,584 crore as of November 15, up by nine per cent from Rs1,454 core in the same period last year. This is despite fears of a slowdown in demand for group superannuation policies from corporates after the introduction of fringe benefit tax.

LIC expects the premium income to exceed the target of Rs3,600 crore, marginally lower than last year's sales of Rs3,666 crore.

The company covered 28 lakh lives during the period. Group gratuity at Rs636 crore brought in the bulk of the premium during this period followed by group superannuation and group life schemes at Rs378 crore and Rs184 crore respectively. The rest of the premium was contributed by other policies such as leave encashment and mortgage redemption. The south zone brought in the maximum premium at Rs400 crore and covered 3 lakh lives during the period.

In the last fiscal, the pension and group business had contributed Rs3,666 crore to the kitty. This accounted for 17 per cent of LIC's total business. LIC has also made significant progress with respect to group life insurance under its social security schemes.
Back to News Review index page  

Exim Bank to issue Samurai bonds to raise $200 million
Chennai: Exim Bank of India plans to raise US$200mn through the issue of Samurai bonds. Samurai bonds are offered in the Japanese domestic market by a non-Japanese entity.
The bank said that this would be the first Indian Samurai bond issue in 14 years.

Exim Bank has got its instrument credit-rated by Japanese Credit Rating Agency, at "one notch above investment grade", bank officials said. The bank intends to swap the yen into US dollars.

The bank said there was a good appetite for Samurai bond issues by government or State-owned companies in Japan including pension funds, who were likely to subscribe to them. Officials said that the bank proposed to raise US$400mn abroad by the end of the financial year, including the Samurai bond issue. According to the officials, the Japanese market was being tapped mainly "in order to diversify our investor base".

So far this year, the bank has raised US$260mn.

Exim Bank funds overseas buyers of Indian goods and services and also Indian companies for investments abroad.
Back to News Review index page