The LIC is all set to invest nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore in both equity and bond this year, inspite of the volatile stock markets.
“We made an aggregate investment of Rs 2.25 lakh crore last year. This year it would increase by 10 per cent,” said LIC Chairman S K Roy.
He added that the LIC for the past few weeks has been investing in the stock markets and said that increase in exposure to equity market, secondary or primary, would depend on the market condition. On it earnings, LIC expects to achieve a 15 per cent growth in first year premium income in the current financial year as against a contraction in the last fiscal.
During 2012-13, the country’s only state-run life insurer registered a 6.5 per cent fall in new premium collection at Rs 76,200 crore compared to Rs 81,500 crore during the earlier fiscal. Apart from urban areas, the company intends to focus on rural areas and Tier II and Tier III cities as it sees a lot of business opportunities in these pockets.
In a bid to make its presence felt LIC has recently opened 300 mini offices across various smaller cities in the country. “We have plans to set up 1,700 such offices in locations with population of 10,000 and above by December,” said an LIC official.
In his budgetary speech for 2013-14, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said insurance companies will be empowered to open branches in Tier II cities and below without prior approval of IRDA.
“All towns of India with a population of 10,000 or more will have an office of LIC and an office of at least one public sector general insurance company. I propose to achieve this goal by March 31, 2014,” he had said.
