Being back in India after a gap of 28 years, what is your perception about the Indian market?
It is heartening to be back in India, where we once had a sizeable presence. As such, the Indian market is not totally new to us. We were here and had a 6-8 per cent market share before the sector was nationalised.Looking from a foreign investor's angle, I am quite confident about India. There are two reasons for this. First, the quality of skilled professionals available here is on par with world standards. The professionals here are highly qualified and talented. This makes our task all the more easy as far as our operations and plans are concerned.

Second is technology. The level of technological penetration in the market is very high and even comparable with even some of the well developed markets. This makes the insurance companies' business a whole lot easy. It will help the players to deliver world class products as well as help shortening claim settlement time and cut costs. This is indeed a very positive aspect.

Do you think the Indian insurance market is getting over-crowded with the entry of too many players?
No. I don't think so. In fact, the Indian insurance market is quite under-served. Many segments of the market are yet to develop and even in the developed segments many more things can be done. With a population of over one billion, the market size of India should have been several-fold higher than it is today. The reason for the low growth of the market is the low level of information flow as well as awareness level among the population. This, however, is poised for a change with the liberalisation of the sector.

Do you think Indian market is over-regulated?
It is difficult to give a straight answer to the question. But, from a foreign investor's point of view, the level of regulation in India is currently on the higher side. My personal feeling is that the best market is the least regulated one where market forces are the ultimate levellers.But, there is another case in point. The Indian insurance market is highly under-developed. It was closed to private sector till the other day. The government initiated the liberalisation process of the sector only recently. So, what we are seeing is a transition from a closed sector to an open one. What the IRDA and the government are doing now is slowly opening up the sector to the private sector and foreign competition. Therefore, a degree of caution and regulation till the market is fully developed is essential and desirable. But, after a stage, the government should leave it to the market forces to decide.

Do you think the cap on foreign investment in the sector is a drag?
Well. The current cap of 26 per cent on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector may be sufficient in the short-term. Of course, it limits the investment potential of foreign players to a greater extent as any increase in capital requirement in the future in tune with the growth in business is linked to the Indian partner's ability to bring in additional funds so as not to upset the current equity ratio. However, we hope that the Indian government will progressively lower the cap on foreign investment and finally do away with it, in tune with liberal policies in the coming years.

Finally, compared to other developing markets, like China and Brazil, how do you rate India?
Well, India is indeed a promising market and we give her top priority. It is comparable to some of the developing markets like Australia, but better than China. In my opinion, the Indian model of regulation is much, much better than the Chinese model of regulations. As such, I put India above China.