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EBRD invests in Polish life insurance company
Azur Zycie, a Polish insurance company, is to receive financial support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the form of a 35 per cent equity investment, valued at PLZ 61.3 billion (ECU 2.7 million). Azur Zycie provides life insurance products to communities in rural areas of Plock, Torun and Wloclawek in Poland.
David Hexter, Director of the Financial Institutions team at the EBRD, said: "The current situation of the Polish insurance market has meant that there has been little competition among the market leaders which have a virtual monopoly. By assisting Azur Zycie, the EBRD will increase competition and ensure that the quality of service is professional and matches international standards."
Germain Sorée, Head of International Operations at Groupe Azur, said: "We are looking forward to our cooperation with our Polish partners and the EBRD. This project, together with the Azur Ostoja project, will play a major role both for the development of the Polish insurance market and the coverage of insurance needs of small and medium sized companies and individuals in rural Poland."
Earlier in 1994 the EBRD subscribed for an equity stake in another insurance company, Azur Ostoja, which provides non-life insurance products in rural Poland. Both companies are subsidiaries of Groupe Azur, a mutual insurance group operating in France and internationally.
The local investors are Fundacja Rolnicza and Fundacja Wspomagajaca Zaopatrzenie Wsi W Wode, two foundations in the Catholic Church Committee for Agriculture. These foundations are active in the development of social and economic activities in rural Poland and are keen to provide an insurance service to their network of individual members, a potential client list of 45,000 accounts.
On-going discussions have been held between Groupe Azur and Bank Gdanski, a Polish commercial bank operating in northern Poland, for the latter to become a shareholder in Azur Zycie during the first quarter of 1995. Bank Gdanski would distribute Azur Zycie products through its branch network.
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