Allianz Group Fully Recapitalizes Nigeria Operations To Meet N18bn Threshold
Allianz Nigeria has announced an additional capital injection of N9.15 billion from its shareholder, Allianz Africa Holding GmBH (a legal entity of Allianz Africa).
This has elevated the capital base of the company above the N18 billion requirement.
The company is in the process of completing all regulatory procedures for recognition of the capital inflow. Additional shares are to be issued and allotted to all shareholders.
This follows the announcement made last December of an increase in the Company’s authorized share capital from N10 billion to N18.5 billion.
To accomplish this, the company had created 17 billion ordinary shares to accommodate the 1st inflow of capital. The 1st tranche of shares had been issued and allotted in favor of the shareholder, Allianz Africa Holding GmBH.
In 2019, The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of Nigeria announced the recapitalisation of insurance and reinsurance companies operating in the country.
The minimum capital base for life and general insurance companies have been increased from N2 billion and N3 billion to N8 billion and N10 billion respectively, while composite insurance companies and reinsurance companies have their minimum capital base increased from N5 billion and N10 billion to N18 billion and N20 billion respectively.
The local insurance regulator NAICOM, had mandated all composite operators to shore up their capital base to N18 billion naira by 30 September 2021. Whereas there have been legal interventions towards the implementation, “Allianz is renowned globally for absolute compliance with regulatory guidelines”, noted the Chief Executive Officer, Adeolu Adewumi-Zer. “In order to err on the side of caution and with the full support of our parent group, we successfully imported our capital ahead of the stipulated deadline”, she added.
Allianz Nigeria had since last year embarked upon a restructuring to improve operations and strengthen market share. In December 2020, the entity had reconstituted its shareholding and gone private to make Allianz the sole investor and further streamline business operations.
Chief Operating Officer, Abimbola Alabi expressed that the capital will be employed in expanding the retail segment of the business to position the company for the explosive retail growth already being experienced in the market.
“Since this year, we have systematically been investing in digital channels to bring insurance products home to the emerging consumers”, explains Chief Customer Officer, Tunji Oshiyoye. “2022 will see a deepened focus on technology tools and channels to make our insurance products ubiquitous, simple and affordable,” he stated.
He also noted that attention is being given to the brokers who are key customer acquisition partners for the corporate market. Allianz Nigeria was the lead sponsor for the Nigerian Council Of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) Abuja Area Committee‘s dinner in August.
“We are serious about our presence in Africa”, Adeolu affirms, “and this significant capital outlay by the Allianz Group to strengthen solvency of its local operations is an unambiguous signal that Allianz is here to stay in Nigeria”.
