CSE sets listing deadline for insurance companies
H.D.H SENEWIRATNE
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will see that all insurance
companies be listed with them before the end of 2015 with the Amendments
to the Insurance Act No 43 of 2000 requiring unlisted insurance
corporate to list and also composite companies to segregate their
businesses and list.
“The segregation of the businesses for the composite companies will
mean that the companies which will have both life and general insurance
businesses separated before 2014 and be listed 2015, Director General
Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) Chandri Gunawardhana told the Daily
News Business .
He said the insurance industry in Sri Lanka per has a provisional
growth of 12 to 13 percent which needs to be increased by increasing the
awareness level among the public with the growth of the sector in the
country. He said there is a total of 21 registered insurance companies
of which seven are listed. The seven listed insurance companies are,
Ceylinco Insurance, Aviva NDB, Union Assurance, HNB Assurance, Amana
Takaful and Janashakthi.
“Out of all insurance companies we have 12 composite insurance
companies involved in both in life and general needs to be segregated
before the end of 2014 because both businesses are different i.e.general
insurance concentrates one year term period while the life insurance
concentrates long term,” he said.
Gunawardhana said that insurance companies carry on other business
with the permission of the IBSL without affecting the co-business or
insurance business.The improved prospects in the non-life segment,
following a sharp increase in new vehicle registrations and higher trade
activity,supported by better domestic growth prospects.
Revised regulations by the IBSL require insurance companies to
separate their life and general businesses by 2015, and increase the
minimum capital requirements (MCR) for each business line.
Fitch Ratings Lanka in a new report has said that its outlook for Sri
Lanka’s insurance sector is Stable. Fitch considers the credit
fundamentals of agency-rated issuers to be underpinned by their healthy
capitalisation and good profitability, supported by improved
macroeconomic factors. |
