BHARTI AXA LIFE TO INCREASE CAPITAL

The joint owners of Indian life assurance joint venture Bharti Axa Life are to inject an additional Rp300m ($7.4m) into the company to facilitate an expansion of the venture’s network. The new money, increasing the capitalisation from the current Rp2.1bn, will be made by the end of the month, the companies stated. Indian conglomerate Bharti will contribute 74% and French insurer Axa will put in 26%, in proportion with the current ownership levels. Bharti Axa Life CEO Nitin Chopra also noted that the company would be opening a new branch in Ludhiana this week. He said that Bharti Axa Life was targeting a market share of 6% to 7% in the next five years. Meanwhile, Bharti Axa Life announced a further extension of its co-operation deal with telecommunications company Airtel, selling products via so-called Airtel Relationship Centres. The assurer is looking to establish a presence in 250 of these centres by the end of the year, increasing to 650 by next year. The distribution initiative provides access to product literature and dedicated financial advisers on hand in the centres, Mr Chopra said.