Mumbai: The life insurance unit of Reliance Capital is seeking an exemption from the normal qualification period before a private insurer can hold an initial public offer, the a media report said on Monday citing finance ministry sources.
Insurers are required to have been operating for 10 years before they are able to hold an IPO, but a clearance from the finance ministry would allow Reliance Life Insurance to include an IPO in its fund raising plans.
A Reliance Capital spokesman declined comment on the report.
In May, Reliance Capital chief executive Sam Ghosh said the firm was looking at selling between 10 to 26 percent stake to strategic investors or through an IPO or both.
India has 21 life insurance firms, and all of them are unlisted. State-owned Life Insurance Corp, the oldest life insurer in the country, controls a major share of the market.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, July 27, 2009, 10:24