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Azerbaijan plans to liberalize foreign investors' entry to insurance market

17 October 2013 19:09 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan plans to liberalize foreign investors' entry to insurance market

By Nazrin Gadimova

Azerbaijan's Finance Ministry is expected to liberalize the terms for entry of foreign investors to the domestic insurance market.

A bill on amendments to the law which provides for this novelty was recommended by the parliamentary committee on economic policy for the plenary session of the parliament on October 14.

"Whereas earlier only foreign legal entities and individuals engaged in insurance activity could buy a stake in the capital of Azerbaijani insurance companies, now we are expanding the investor base," Head of the State Insurance Supervision Service under the Ministry of Finance, Namig Khalilov, said.

According to the amendments to the law, foreign investors who are not engaged in insurance activity can hold up to 50 percent stake in the authorized capital of the local insurance companies. This restriction does not apply to international financial institutions of which Azerbaijan is a member, and foreign insurance companies and foreign institutional investors -- such as banks and credit institutions, social funds, and investment funds.

Moreover, according to the amendments, the share of a foreign individual in the authorized capital cannot exceed 10 percent, while the total share of several foreign individuals cannot exceed 30 percent.

28 insurance and one reinsurance company are operating in Azerbaijan. All of them are members of the Azerbaijan Insurers Association (AIA), which is a non-profit organization established by insurers to coordinate the activity of its members and to protect their interests, as well as to jointly address problems in the field of insurance.

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