ING Group to divest 26% in insurance co

New Delhi, Oct. 27 -- As part of its global restructuring plans, Dutch financial major ING Group will be divesting its stake in all the insurance companies including the investment management business across the world by 2013.

In India, ING Group has 26 per cent stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Company and would explore all possibilities such as initial public offering (IPO), sale or combinations thereof for divesting its stake. However, ING Group will retain the 44 per cent stake in ING Bank, clarified a company spokesperson.

A press statement issued by ING Group from Amsterdam said that ING will move towards a complete separation of the banking and insurance operations by 2013. Despite an early launch in 2001, ING Vysya Life has remained a small player in the domestic life insurance market with a market share of around 1.2 per cent.