The Hindu Business Line : Shriram group to foray into insurance business

Mr Ajith R. Gunawardena (right), Chief Executive Director, Ceylinco Insurance Co Ltd, addressing a press conference in Chennai on Thursday along with Mr R. Thyagarajan (centre), Chairman, Shriram Group, and Ms Akhila Srinivasan, Managing Director, Shriram Investments Ltd. - - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , Sept. 9

CHENNAI-BASED Shriram group made three announcements on Thursday — its intention to get into life insurance business, association with Ceylinco Insurance Company of Sri Lanka to set up non-life insurance businesses in a number of countries and a possible takeover of a direct-cum-reinsurance broking firm in India.

The group's Chairman, Mr R. Thyagarajan, told a press conference here that the Shriram group already had a long-standing business relationship with Ceylinco.

It has a stake in some of the Ceylinco group ventures in Sri Lanka, Ceylinco has a stake in Armour Consultants, the broking arm of the Shriram group and both have a joint venture running in Thailand.

A strengthening of the association, in terms of getting into new ventures, was announced. Ceylinco intends to set up shop in Egypt, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and a few countries in South East Asia.

"We will go wherever they go," Mr Thyagarajan said.

He later told journalists that the Shriram group could invest about Rs 10 crore in these overseas joint ventures with Ceylinco, over the next 2-3 years.

On the life insurance foray, he said that Shriram group was "a few months away" from entering this business.

Mr Thyagarajan also said that the group was close to finalising a deal to takeover the management of an existing composite insurance broking company.

While he did not want to disclose the name of the company, sources close to the Shriram group say that it could be TTK Insurance Services of the Chennai-based TTK group.

Mr Thyagarajan also said that the Shriram group would set up a holding company.

The Shriram group is predominantly into financial services — it has four NBFCs doing mainly truck finance — and has investments in other areas such as IT, property development and pharmaceuticals.

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