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ING Russia Life

Summary of Proposed Investment

This Summary of Proposed Investment is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of the IFC Board of Directors’ consideration of the proposed transaction. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities, and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board decision. Board dates are estimates only.

Project number 24319
Company nameING Life Russia
CountryRussian Federation
SectorFinance & Insurance
Environmental categoryC
DepartmentGlobal Financial Markets Group
StatusActive
Date SPI disclosedNovember 29, 2006
Projected board dateJanuary 25, 2007
Previous EventsInvested: August 8, 2008
Signed: June 20, 2007
Approved: February 15, 2007
  Overview     Sponsor/Cost/Location     Development Impact     Contacts     Attachments  

Project description
The project consists of an equity investment of up to approximately EUR 22.2 million ($ 28.5 million equivalent) for a 10% stake in ING Life Insurance ZAO, a life insurance company to be newly established in Russia by the ING Group.

EBRD will also hold a 10% equity stake with ING holding the remaining 80%. The company is expected to require equity financing of EUR 222 million over a 10 year period to support its business plan. The life insurance market in Russia is in a nascent stage of development, both in terms of size and sophistication of the industry. Reported life insurance premiums are small relative to population size but the true life insurance market is even smaller due to the inclusion of a high volume of artificial tax motivated arrangements within the official statistics. The proposed project is expected to have a strong development impact by promoting the value of life assurance and the growth of the industry through a highly respected international player which will operate to high standards. IFC has a strong role in this project in supporting the entry of a global insurance major such as ING into an underdeveloped and challenging market. IFC’s support will serve as a signal of its confidence in the long term prospects of this market.