SBI Life Insurance

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Katrina Hamlin

HONG KONG, May 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prudential PRU.L, 2378.HK has a punchy plan to shake up its life insurance business in India: it's buying a controlling stake in Bharti Life Insurance. Tapping its new partner's telco and asset management customers is a risky alternative to the tried-and-tested model of distributing products via a bank but could be an ingenious way to kickstart growth.

The $38 billion group agreed to acquire 75% of Bharti Life from ​Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management ONEW.NS for $389 million, it said on Sunday.

That means Prudential CEO Anil Wadhwani is doing a switcheroo: the transaction requires Pru to reduce its stake in an existing venture with ICICI Bank ICBK.NS to under 10%, from 22%, per the company. It could well go on to divest what remains, leaving Bharti as its key partner.

The Indian business is in need of a reboot. New business sales there fell 2% last year, and its ranking among private life insurers fell to fifth from third a year earlier. That was a disappointing result for what ought to be a high-growth market. The world’s most populous country has only 3% penetration in the life insurance space, Prudential reckons.

Wadhwani’s solution is a creative one. Insurers often lean on large banks like ICICI to reach potential policy buyers. But the target’s main attraction is Bharti Airtel’s BRTI.NS nearly 300 million smartphone customers in India, compared with ICICI’s roughly 80 million retail banking clients, per data from Bharti and BCG Matrix. Overlapping markets in Africa could also open up other emerging markets, while the telecom company's asset management arm could help Pru reach India’s high net worth individuals.

But making it work could be tough. JioBlackRock, a joint venture between BlackRock BLK.N and Jio Financial Services JIOF.NS, is tapping additional distributors to sell its products after trying a digital direct model that leaned on its connections to Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecoms group.

And while the deal price seems fair, it’s not a bargain, valuing the company at just over $500 million, or around 1.5 times its embedded value as of September. That’s in line with the average for rivals SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS, HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS and the Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS, per Visible Alpha, and just below 1.6 times for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS. Shareholders sent Pru’s stock down 2% in morning trade in Hong Kong. That's probably because Wadhwani's punt for better rewards in India comes with higher risks.

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CONTEXT NEWS

Insurer Prudential said on May 17 that it has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance from ​Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management for an initial cash consideration of $389 million, with a potential additional consideration of up to $78 million, subject to certain conditions.

Prudential’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 2.26% to HK$116.8 in morning trade on May 18.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on HAMLIN/[email protected]; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

** SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS stock falls as much as 3.1% to two-week low after reporting new business slowdown, marginal profit decline

** Median PT of 36 brokerages is 2,400 rupees; rating "BUY" - LSEG-compiled data

MARGIN PRESSURE TO EASE ON NEW PRODUCTS

** Ambit Capital ("BUY"; PT 2,300): Overall growth data ahead of peers

** HDFC Securities ("BUY"; PT 2,400): Geopolitical headwinds weighed on business; bets on co's exclusive access to SBI's SBI.NS massive distribution network, scope for improvement in margin-accretive traditional mix and cost leadership

** Bank of Baroda ("BUY"; PT 2,415): SBIL's gradual shifting toward higher-margin traditional products while reducing the ULIP share likely to aid margins

** Jefferies ("BUY"; PT up 2,550 from 2,500): new product launches to help growth; insurer gaining market share supported by parent bank and agency network; annual premium equivalent to accelerate

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru)

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April 22 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS reported a 1% drop in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by higher commissions and a jump in operating expenses.

The insurer reported a net profit of 8.05 billion rupees ($85.85 million) for the three months ended March 31, down from 8.14 billion rupees a year earlier.

($1 = 93.7725 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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March 11 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE - GETS TOTAL TAX DEMAND FOR 5.38 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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Feb 25 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• DIVIDEND OF 2.70 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text: ID:nnAZN4SIA1K

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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Jan 28 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS reported a near 5% rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, aided by higher premium collection on tax cut-spurred retail demand for insurance products.

The insurer's net profit rose to 5.77 billion rupees ($62.87 million) for the three months ended December 31, up from 5.51 billion rupees a year earlier.

($1 = 91.7750 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Rewrites, adds details, background throughout

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Indian private lender IndusInd Bank INBK.NS said on Friday that its chairman Sunil Mehta will step down when his term ends in January, and named former State Bank of India SBI.NS Managing Director Arijit Basu as his successor.

Basu, the chairman of non-banking finance company HDB Financial Services HDBF.NS, will take over as IndusInd's chairman on January 31. Basu has also been the CEO at SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS.

Mehta's exit marks the latest senior leadership change at the private lender, which posted its largest-ever quarterly loss last fiscal year, following a $230 million hit to its accounts, with governance and accounting failures prompting the departure of former CEO Sumant Kathpalia and Deputy CEO Arun Khurana.

IndusInd Bank's shares fell 10% in 2025, making it the worst performer on the Nifty private bank index .NIFPVTBNK, which gained nearly 16%.

The shares were trading flat as of 12:56 p.m. IST on Friday ahead of the lender's December quarter results.

Reuters reported in December, citing sources, that Mehta, informed the board about his desire to step down at the end of his term. Mehta was the lender's chairman since January 2023.

In the past few months, IndusInd has also appointed a new chief financial officer, a chief human resources officer and several other senior executives.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Updates stock price in paragraph 2, adds details throughout

By Vivek Kumar M

Oct 17 (Reuters) - India's Canara HSBC Life Insurance CANR.NS made a muted debut on the bourses on Friday, as unappealing pricing and a crowded IPO market clouded the insurer's prospects.

Its stock was trading at 108.9 rupees, as of 10:50 a.m. IST, up 2.7% from its issue and listing price of 106 rupees, yielding the insurer a valuation of 105.15 billion rupees ($1.20 billion).

Peers SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS and HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS are valued around $21 billion and $18 billion, respectively.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance, which is a joint venture between Canara Bank and HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings, struggled to garner bids from retail and non-institutional investors earlier this week.

Retail investors subscribed 42% of their quota, while high-net-worth individuals subscribed a third of their shares in the $283 million IPO.

Thanks to qualified institutional buyers, the issue was subscribed 2.29 times, which was still lower than most other IPOs that opened in the last couple of weeks.

For instance, another Canara Bank-promoted entity, Canara Robeco Asset Management CANE.NS, received bids worth nearly 10-fold and closed 13% higher in its debut on Thursday.

Choice Broking said the insurer's valuation appeared to be fully priced, with price-to-enterprise value multiple, a stock valuation metric, of 1.6x, while industry averaged 2.4x.

"High dependence on bancassurance (where banks sell insurance) and relatively lower VNB (value of new business) margins compared to peers is expected to keep valuation multiples at a discount to peers," ICICI Direct said.

The insurer got 87% of its new business premium in fiscal year 2024-25 through bancassurance, with Canara Bank contributing 70.6% of this.

The listing caps a busy week for the Indian IPO market, which saw five stock debuts, including a blockbuster listing from LG Electronics India LGEL.NS and a muted start from the country's largest IPO of the year, Tata Capital TATC.NS. ($1 = 87.8387 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Harikrishnan Nair)

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NEW DELHI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled tax cuts for hundreds of consumer items, from soap to cars, in the biggest overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST), set to take effect from September 22.

Here are key highlights:

MAJOR CHANGES

India will have two key tax rates of 5% and 18% from September 22, versus four now. A new tax slab of 40% will apply to high-end goods, but all additional levies above that are to be abolished, bringing down effective tax rates on mid-size and big cars.

REVENUE LOSS, INFLATION IMPACT

The government estimates the cuts will cause revenue loss of 480 billion rupees ($5.5 billion), far lower than economists' estimate ranging from 1 trillion rupees to 1.8 trillion rupees.

Citi said India's inflation could ease as much as 1.1 percentage points if the cuts are fully passed through to consumers. India's retail inflation rate fell in July to its lowest in eight years.

TAX CUTS ON DAILY ITEMS

A tax panel approved lower GST of 5% on items of everyday use such as packaged food, medicines, toothpaste, fruit, milk products, talcum powder and shampoo, against 12% to 18% now.

The cut is expected to lift the sales of fast-moving consumer goods firms such as Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS, Nestle NEST.NS and Godrej Industries GODI.NS, while lowering costs for farmers.

It will abolish tax on individual life and health insurance products sold by companies such as LIC LIFI.NS, SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS.

HOLIDAY BOOST TO SALES

The government has cut taxes on items such as cars, TVs and even cement, which could boost sales during the festival season that typically runs from the last week of September until November. India's tax panel also cut GST on air conditioners, ambulances, dishwashers, three-wheelers and hybrid vehicles.

Carmakers such as Maruti MRTI.NS and Toyota 7203.T, and manufacturers of consumer applicance such as LG Electronics LGEL.NS and Sony 6758.T are set to benefit immediately when the new rates kick in.

The tax panel also lowered the effective tax for big cars to 40% from the current rate of as much as 50%, making cars from Mercedes-Benz AGMBGn.DE, AUDI Aktiengesellschaft and BMW BMWG.DE attractive. GST on EVs was kept at 5%, giving relief to carmakers such as Tata Motors TAMO.NS and Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS after a panel recommended an increase.

The government lowered taxes on fertiliser and tractors to help lower costs for farmers, recently come in the spotlight as Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to protect them following a breakdown in India-U.S. trade talks.

MAIN LOSERS

GST was raised to 18% from 12% on apparel and clothing accessories that cost more than 2,500 rupees, which could hurt global brands such as Marks and Spencer MKS.L, Levi Strauss LEVI.N, and Zara.

The tax on coal went to 18% from 5%, but the effective tax rate on fizzy drinks make by PepsiCo PEP.O and Coca-Cola KO.N was held at 40%.

($1=87.5060 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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Adds comments from Maruti Suzuki chairman in paragraphs 7,8,9

By Nikunj Ohri, Aftab Ahmed and Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - India aims to slash taxes on small cars and insurance premiums as part of a sweeping reform of its goods and services tax (GST), a government source said on Monday, sparking a rally in Indian stock markets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration revealed plans over the weekend for the largest tax overhaul since 2017, with consumer, auto and insurance companies likely to emerge as the biggest winners when product prices drop from October, once the reform is approved.

The federal government has suggested lowering GST on small petrol and diesel cars to 18% from the current 28%, said the source who is directly involved in the matter.

The consumption tax on health and life insurance premiums may also be lowered to 5% or even zero from 18% currently, the same source said.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS, the biggest seller of small petrol cars in India, surged nearly 9% on Monday, leading a rally in auto shares that helped push India's benchmark Nifty index 1.3% higher, on course for its best day in three months.

Shares of other carmakers such as Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS, as well as motorbike manufacturers like Hero MotoCorp HROM.NS and Bajaj Auto BAJA.NS, which will also benefit from tax cuts, jumped 2%-4% on Monday.

Stocks of insurance companies such as ICICI Prudential ICIR.NS, SBI Life SBIL.NS, and LIC LIFI.NS rose as much as 2%-5% before pairing some gains.

Modi's deep tax cuts will strain government revenues but have drawn praise from businesses and political pundits who say they will bolster his image in an ongoing trade fight with Washington.

Maruti Chairman R.C. Bhargava said the tax rationalisation is a "huge reform".

"With more affordability, more people will come into the purchasing system," said Bhargava, who declined to comment on proposed tax cuts on small cars until the fine print is out.

"This restructuring of the GST will increase competitiveness of Indian products and the opening of trade borders will bring in the necessary competition. Competition, combined with your ability to produce and sell at lower prices, makes for the best efficiency," he added.

Federal government officials over the weekend said New Delhi has proposed only two rates of taxation -- 5% and 18% -- under the revamped structure. The highest 28% rate will be abolished.

The new proposal, however, will impose a 40% tax on 5-7 "sin-goods" like tobacco products and luxury items.

The announcement will not be effective until the GST Council, which is chaired by the federal finance minister and has representatives from all states, gives a nod. A meeting is expected by October.

India's finance ministry did not reply to an email seeking comment.

PUSH FOR SMALL CARS

Sales of small cars, defined as those having engine capacity below 1200cc for petrol vehicles and 1500cc for diesel and not exceeding 4 metres in length, have slowed over the last few years as buyers switched to bigger, feature-rich SUVs.

Small cars made up a third of the 4.3 million passenger vehicles sold in the world's third-largest automobile market last fiscal year, down from nearly 50% pre-COVID, industry data showed.

The segment makes up half of all cars sold by Maruti, majority-owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor 7269.T, which saw its market share plunge to about 40% from over 50% in the last five years as sales of its Alto, Dzire and Wagon-R models dropped.

Carmakers Hyundai Motor India HYUN.NS and Tata Motors TAMO.NS also stand to gain.

Cars with higher engine capacity that currently attract 28% GST and an additional levy of up to 22% - resulting in total taxes of about 50% - may come under a new special rate of 40%, the source said.

The government source added that details are being firmed up to consider if any extra levies should be imposed over the 40% to keep the overall tax incidence for big cars the same at 43%-50%.

On the other hand insurance penetration in India continues to remain low, at 3.8% of GDP, in 2024, according to research firm Swiss Re Institute. The companies believe lowering of GST will help boost sales of insurance products.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Aditya Kalra, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Susan Fenton)

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Aug 4 (Reuters) - AU Small Finance Bank Ltd AUFI.NS:

• PARTNERS WITH SBI LIFE FOR INSURANCE ACCESS

Source text: ID:nBSEb96Vjk

Further company coverage: AUFI.NS

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July 24 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE Q1 PAT 5.94 BILLION RUPEES

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE Q1 NET PREMIUM INCOME 171.79 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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April 24 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE Q4 PAT 8.14 BILLION RUPEES

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE Q4 NET PREMIUM INCOME 238.61 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

(([email protected];))

April 15 (Reuters) - India's ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS on Tuesday reported a surge in fourth-quarter profit, helped by strong demand for its group insurance offerings.

The insurer's standalone profit more than doubled to 3.86 billion rupees ($45 million) for the quarter ended March 31. Its quarterly net premium income grew 11% to 16.37 billion rupees, driven by a 30% jump in single premiums.

Demand for its market or unit-linked insurance plans (ULIP) dropped during the fourth quarter as India's stock markets underwent a sharp correction.

In the previous quarters, demand for ULIPs rose consistently as the stock markets traded at record high levels.

However, analysts pointed out that a rise in the demand for group insurance plans during the January-March quarter has boosted premium income for ICICI Prudential.

Group insurance policies cover multiple people in the same plan and are generally taken by companies to provide coverage for employees.

ICICI Prudential's value of new business (VNB), or expected profit from new policies, rose 2.5% to 7.95 billion rupees for the quarter, according to Reuters calculations.

However, the insurer's annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, which is the total value of all single- and recurring-premium policies, fell 3.1% to 35.02 billion rupees during the quarter due to the drop in the sales of ULIPs.

Meanwhile, ICICI Prudential's VNB margins for the full year deteriorated to 22.8% from 24.6% a year ago.

ULIPs accounted for 48.3% of the company's overall product mix, down from 50.8% a year earlier.

Peer HDFC Life HDFL.NS will report its quarterly results later this week, while SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS is scheduled to post its earnings next week.

($1 = 85.7230 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

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March 26 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• GETS TAX PENALTY AMOUNT OF 238 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE8lMTq7

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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March 24 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - RECEIVES INCOME TAX ORDER

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE - ORDER INCLUDES TAX DEMAND OF 3.53 BILLION RUPEES INTEREST OF 785 MILLION RUPEES

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - INCOME TAX ORDER HAS NO ADVERSE MATERIAL IMPACT ON SBI LIFE

Source text: ID:nBSEbPzhJq

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

(([email protected];))

Feb 28 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE - DIVIDEND OF 2.7 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text: ID:nBSEf6VtM

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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Feb 26 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - TOTAL GST DEMAND AMOUNTS TO 396 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE4TkxGN

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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Feb 24 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - APPOINTS DORABABU DAPARTI AS DEPUTY CEO EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 24, 2025

Source text: ID:nBSEb9BY8M

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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Feb 3 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE CO - GOT TAX ORDER FOR DEMAND OF 396.8 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE8zZh1Q

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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MUMBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - India, on Saturday, raised the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 100% from the current 74%, a move aimed to boost overseas investments and improve insurance penetration in the country.

The change applies to insurers that invest their entire premium in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, while presenting the annual budget.

Existing regulations and conditions governing foreign investment in the sector will undergo review and simplification, Sitharaman said.

In November, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (IRDAI) chairperson, Debasish Panda, said the government should allow 100% FDI in insurance.

"To stick to India's target of 'insurance for all' by 2047, we need a lot of capital ... we need a lot of new entities to come in, there may be some consolidation happening," Panda had said.

Shares of insurance companies such as SBI Life SBIL.NS and HDFC Life HDFL.NS rose 2.3% each, while ICICI Prudential Life ICIR.NS gained 3%.

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; Reuters Messaging: X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

Jan 17 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE Q3 PAT 5.51 BILLION RUPEES

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE Q3 NET PREMIUM INCOME 248.28 BLN RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of SBI Life Insurance Co SBIL.NS fall ~3% in 2024, set to snap three-year winning streak

** Insurer down ~1% at 1,391.80 rupees during the session, on track for third straight session of losses, if trend holds

** YTD, Nifty financial services index .NIFTYFIN and Nifty 50 index .NSEI up ~9% each

** Avg rating of 31 analysts covering SBIL at "buy" while peers ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co ICIR.NS and HDFC Life Insurance Co HDFL.NS also rated "buy" - data compiled by LSEG

** Median PT for SBIL at 1,940 rupees - LSEG data

** YTD, ICIR up ~21% while HDFL down ~5%

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru)

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Dec 30 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• APPROVES INVESTMENT OF 66 MILLION RUPEES IN BIMA SUGAM

• INVESTMENT FOR NOT EXCEEDING 10% OF PAID-UP EQUITY CAPITAL OF BIMA SUGAM

Source text: ID:nBSE379vPd

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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Nov 12 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• APPOINTS CHALLA SREENIVASULU SETTY AS CHAIRMAN AND NOMINEE DIRECTOR

Source text: ID:nBSE2s9rYP

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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Nov 7 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• GETS TAX ORDER WITH TOTAL AMOUNT OF 3 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE3QZ8v4

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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BENGALURU, Oct 23 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance Company SBIL.NS reported a nearly 40% year-on-year rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by higher investment income and sustained demand for insurance products.

SBI Life said its profit rose to 5.29 billion rupees ($62.92 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, from 3.8 billion rupees a year earlier.

Net premium income rose 1% to 202.66 billion rupees, while investment income more than doubled to 197.53 billion rupees.

SBI Life's annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, a key metric that gives annualised total value of all single premium and recurring premium policies, rose 9% to 90.3 billion rupees for the half-year ended Sept. 30.

The insurer's value of new business (VNB), or expected profit from new policies, rose 2% to 24.2 billion rupees for the half-year.

A strong equity market has boosted demand for market- or unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) in recent quarters.

ULIPs accounted for 63% of SBI Life's overall product mix for April-September, up from 56% a year earlier.

This resulted in the contraction of VNB margins for SBI Life to 26.8% for the half-year from 28.6% a year ago.

Peers HDFC Life HDFL.NS and ICICI Prudential ICIR.NS also reported a drop in VNB margins for the half-year.

Shares of SBI Life were up around 1% after the results.

($1 = 84.0725 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE- DINESH KUMAR KHARA RESIGNED AS A NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE7kll5H

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

BENGALURU, July 24 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance Company SBIL.NS posted a 36% rise in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as premiums were boosted by strong demand for market-linked products.

The insurer's profit rose to 5.2 billion rupees ($62 million) for the three months ended June 30 from 3.81 billion rupees, a year earlier.

Net premium income increased about 15%, while investment income rose 32%.

Demand for market-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) has jumped sharply in recent quarters driven by a rally in India's equity market. Benchmark indexes NSE Nifty 50 .NSEI and the S&P Sensex .BSESN hit record highs in recent months on strong economic growth outlook and foreign fund inflows. .BO

SBI Life's value of new business (VNB), or expected profit from new policies, rose 12% year-on-year to 9.7 billion rupees in the June quarter.

Annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, a key metric that gives the annualised total value of all single premium and recurring premium policies, rose 20% to 36.4 billion rupees for the quarter.

ULIPs accounted for 61% of the company's overall product mix by APE for the quarter, compared to 53% a year earlier.

The rise in sales of ULIPs, which have a lower profit margin, has resulted in the contraction of the value of new business margins for insurers.

SBI Life's VNB margin declined to 26.8% for the April-June quarter from 28.8% a year earlier.

Peers, HDFC Life HDFL.NS and ICICI Prudential Life ICIR.NS also reported a drop in VNB margin for the June quarter.

SBI Life's shares ended 2.4% higher ahead of the results.

($1 = 83.6860 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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May 22 (Reuters) - SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd SBIL.NS:

• SBI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - VEERARAGHAVAN SRINIVASAN RELINQUISHED CHARGE OF DEPUTY CEO

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE6bKXr1

Further company coverage: SBIL.NS

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