New India Assurance plans offices in New Zealand, Qatar

By siliconindia staff writer   |   Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Leading general insurer New India Assurance plans to open offices in New Zealand and Qatar to expand its operations and attain over Rs 5,470 crore in global business this fiscal. "We are planning new offices in New Zealand and Qatar. Our overseas business is expected to grow by five per cent to Rs 920 crore while domestic premium is targeted to grow by 12 per cent to Rs 4,550 crore this fiscal," NIA chairman Rajender Beri told PTI. With the international expansion to 28 countries, the company's gross global premium is expected to be Rs 5,470 crore this fiscal compared to Rs 4,921 crore in 2003-04. Beri was in town to present the highest ever dividend of Rs 45 crore to Finance Minister P Chidambaram last evening. Unfazed by the stiff competition from other PSUs and private players, the state-owned insurer is in the process of consolidating its operations and focusing on profitability rather than on volume of business. "We will continue to focus on profits and not on volumes," Beri said. Although the markets share of NIA has come down in the last few years, the company more than doubled its net profit to Rs 590 crore last fiscal from Rs 256 crore in 2002-03. He said the company was merging some of its branches and would inter-connect all of them to streamline operations by December this year. CMC is assisting NIA in IT upgradation. NIA has also cut flab after offering special VRS to about 2,400 staff for a total outgo of Rs 500 crore.

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