Prudential Plc (PRU), the U.K.’s biggest
insurer, said the Ghanaian life insurance business it acquired
in December may become profitable after four years.
Express Life Insurance Co., the Accra-based insurer bought
for an undisclosed sum, has premiums of 4 million cedis ($1.4
million), or 1 percent of Ghana’s life insurance market, said
Matt Lilley, Prudential’s director of strategy and investor
relations. The U.K. company injected $5 million into the
business this month.
“We’re willing to invest year-after-year-after-year to
grow the business,” Lilley said in an April 24 interview in
Accra. “Ghana’s very young population has got a low penetration
of insurance, which means that as the middle class continues to
grow Ghana’s needs for insurance for savings will grow.”
Prudential Plc is eyeing markets in Africa, including
Nigeria and Kenya, to capitalize on rapid economic growth and a
rising middle class. Ghana, marking the company’s entry into the
continent’s life-insurance market, is projecting economic growth
of 8 percent this year.
Prudential plans to invest premiums in the local economy,
mainly in infrastructure projects, Lilley said. The company will
take advantage of the Ghana Infrastructure Fund when it becomes
operational, he said.
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