Japan's largest property insurance firm, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, is now busy in doing groundwork to open its operations in Bangladesh under joint venture with local entrepreneurs.
The Tokyo-based Japanese insurance company, founded way back in 1893, already met with the insurance regulator here last week.
It has yet to be decided whether or not Mitsui Sumitomo should be given operating licence.
People familiar with the development told the FE Monday that the Japanese company, which has more than 33 per cent market shares in Japan's property market, sees Bangladesh as an untapped potential for life market.
The insurance multinational has strong presence in the Asian market for long and is now searching for suitable local partners to make a joint venture over here, the sources said.
M Shefaque Ahmed, chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Commission (IDRA), told the FE that the Japanese insurer had a meeting with them last week.
"They are keen and want to enter the Bangladesh market," Mr Ahmed said.
Sumitomo's East Asia and India division chief Mr Yu Kitai led a delegation at the talks. The other members were its deputy general manager of Asian Life Insurance Business Department Mr Keiichi Sato and Chief representative of India JV Arun Kumar.
The Japanese insurer with a paid-up capital of nearly Yen 140 million has a strong presence in the continent.
It is operating in 39 countries and regions.
Mitsui Sumitomo is second-largest company in Malaysia, out of 26 insurers, and third among 81 in the Philippines.
It is ranked fourth-largest company in Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand.
The insurance bigwig has recently entered India's market and ranked 12th out of 27 companies in the field.
Earlier, Taiyo, another Japanese company, also partnered with local power-giant Summit Group. It got consent letter to operate in Bangladesh.
But, the IDRA has held up its licences following changes in the equities in the proposed company.
However, hectic lobbying is now on for its foray into the Bangladesh market where much of the potential lies as a lucrative cake for the business for a modern company in insurance.
However, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company was created in 2001 through a merger between its predecessors -- Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance and Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Company.
Their respective origins, "Mitsui" and "Sumitomo", were established more than 300 years back and still operate as business-management groups that have major influence both in Japan and the rest of the world.
The net premium earnings by the Japanese insurer have been expanding mainly in Asia region. Its net premium earnings stood at 59 per cent of its total Yen 304.6 billion net premium earnings in 2013.
The Japanese firm's premium shares in America and Europe are 15 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
Bangladesh has got no joint-venture foreign insurance company.
MetLife has been operating in the land since 1952. The US-based company is in operation in the country as a branch office with no paid-up capital in Bangladesh.
However, IDRA sources said, the regulator retains an amount through deducting 25 per cent from the company's annual outbound remittances.
Bangladesh has now around 9.0 million active policyholders with 31 life-insurance firms in operation.
Bangladesh's insurance market is believed to be low-penetration one as its value is less than one per cent of the country's GDP.
Jasimharoon@yahoo.com
