National, Oriental, United Boards give nod for amalgamation

Chennai: The Boards of three public sector general insurance companies - National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company - have formally given their nod for their amalgamation, as was announced by the central government earlier.

The Boards of Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance met in Delhi on Friday, while the Board of National Insurance met in Kolkata on Monday.

"Presenting the Union Budget in 2018, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the government's decision to merge the three companies. After that the three companies agreed on appointment of a consultant for charting the merger/amalgamation road map," a senior official in one of the three companies told IANS on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

"However, the formal nod for the amalgamation from the Boards of the three companies was the missing link," he added. According to the official, that missing link in the amalgamation process has been set right by the Boards of three companies.

Queried about the possibility of additional capital infusion into the three companies, by the central government, the official said they are keeping their fingers crossed. "There is no need for a merger if the Finance Minister announces infusion of capital for the three individual companies," another industry official said.

According to the official, the Board meetings of the three companies comes about two weeks before the Union Budget is to be presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.