Aegon Religare to infuse Rs.1.2 bn by July

Kolkata, Jan 5: Aegon Religare Life Insurance, a joint venture between financial services institutions Religare Enterprises and the Netherlands-based Aegon NV, will make fresh capital infusion of Rs.1.2 billion (Rs.120 crore) by July this year, a top official said here Monday.

"When we kicked off our operations in India, we had plans to infuse Rs.370 crore (Rs.3.7 billion) in the first year of operations. Our current capital base is Rs.250 crore (Rs.2.5 billion) and another Rs.120 crore will be pumped in by June-July this year," Aegon Religare chief executive Rajiv Jamkhedkar told reporters here at the launch of Aegon Religare Pension Plan.

"We are looking at a capital base of Rs.1,000 crore (Rs.10 billion) by the end of four-five years. By that time, the company is likely to cover 500,000 lives," Jamkhedkar added.

Now the company has 49 branches across 500 towns in India and will have at least 200 branches over the next couple of years, Jamkhedkar said.

To back up its expansion drive, Aegon Religare will hire more people. "At present, our strength is 1,200. Over the next 12 months, we will have manpower of at least 2,500. We will also increase the number of financial advisors from 1,400 at present to 5,000 during this period," he said.

He added that the company was now working on launching health plans. "We are working on developing a health policy," said Jamkhedkar.

--IANS