Aditya Birla Nuvo to infuse Rs 800 cr in life insurance arm

MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Nuvo is planning to infuse in excess of Rs 800 crore in its life insurance arm, Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), by the end of next financial year, a top company executive said today.

"We will be adding over Rs 800 crore in our life insurance venture over a period of next 15 months," Aditya Birla Nuvo Chief Financial Officer Sushil Agarwal told reporters here.

Of the Rs 800 crore, the company is planning to pump in Rs 400 crore into BSLI in the current quarter depending on growth, he said.

"It (investment of Rs 400 crore) has been targeted that way, but all will depend on what kind of growth we will achieve in this quarter in our life insurance business," Agarwal said, adding the company may invest Rs 375 crore in the next financial year depending on its requirements.

This fiscal so far, the company has infused Rs 200 crore into BSLI and its current capital base is Rs 2,100 crore, he said.

The private insurer is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and Canada-based financial services company Sun Life Financial Inc.

Asked about Aditya Birla Nuvo's plan to spin-off its financial services business comprising life insurance, asset management and private equity into a wholly-owned subsidiary, Agarwal said the company was awaiting approvals from various regulators for this.

"We are quite keen to cut off those businesses under one umbrella. We are in discussion with various regulators and as soon as approvals are received we will do it," he said.