Again, the Nepal government is preparing to distribute the license of the new insurance company
17 October, Kathmandu. The five-party coalition government has started preparations to allow the operation of new insurance companies on the basis of allotment. Sources claim that the Insurance Committee has started the process of adding at least 10 new companies.
About a dozen new applications have been received by the Insurance Committee after receiving information that preparations for operating permission have been started. The Insurance Committee had decided to close the licenses for new insurance companies for four years.
Committee chairperson Surya Silval, on the other hand, said that the license was still closed and no preparations had been made to open it. But 6/7 companies have applied for licenses, said Chairman Silval. Acknowledging that the application for the license has been registered, Chairman Silval told online news, “Just because the application has been registered does not mean that you will get the license. Nothing has happened now.”
The Insurance Committee has already given permission to operate a reinsurance company without deciding to open a new license. Former Secretary Silval, who was appointed chairman of the Insurance Committee under then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, had given permission to Himalayan Re-Insurance to operate, saying there was only one reinsurance company in the country and another was needed.
At present, the total number of insurance companies in the country has reached 40. The Insurance Committee had brought the policy of merger two years ago saying that the number of insurance companies is high. The policy of the Insurance Committee was to merge such companies with cross holding shares (shares of the same company or individual in more than one company).
Sources claim that Chairman Silval is preparing to add a new insurance company by reversing the policy of the former chairman. According to a source, Silval has already started accepting applications for the new company as per the government’s recommendation.
Some applied, some making papers
More than half a dozen proposed companies have already applied to the Insurance Committee after the government prepared to allow the new company to operate on the basis of party share. Another half a dozen companies are preparing the founders’ documents for the application and the cost of the agreed shares.
According to insurance committee sources, Mr. Karki, former executive director of the insurance committee, Ramesh Bhattarai, the former CEO of the insurance company, as well as some business people are preparing for the new insurance company.
Both Karki and Bhattarai had applied for reinsurance company but could not get a license. Karki is currently preparing documents in the name of Abhiyan General Insurance Company and Bhattarai in the name of Mahalakshmi General Insurance.
Similarly, some business groups are preparing for licenses in the name of Manakamana General Insurance, Standard Life Insurance, Uni Life Insurance and Kathmandu General Insurance. In the proposed Uni Life, even former minister Narad Muni Rana has filled the form for the founder share.
During the tenure of the then chairman Chiranjeevi Chapagain, 19 insurance companies were licensed. After that, the license was revoked saying that the number was too high. Bharatraj Dhakal, who has succeeded in making a national level strong development bank by starting from a regional level development bank, has also started preparations to open two new companies.
Dhakal is preparing documents for the operation of a non-life insurance company called Muktinath Insurance Company Limited and a life insurance company called Muktinath Life Insurance Company Limited. Dhanraj Pant, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of First Microfinance, has been working hard to prepare the documents for the licenses of these two companies.Both Dhakal Pant have been requesting the bankers and businessmen close to him to sell the shares of the proposed company at the rate of Rs 1 million to Rs 5 million per person.
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