Bangladesh's insurance sector is set to expand through the launch of a new venture, "Shanta Life Insurance PLC".The company came into being through a consortium comprising Shanta Holdings Limited, Shanta Lifestyle, Shanta Securities Limited, Shanta Multiverse, Shanta Property Management, FAR Asset Management and Nasah Holdings Limited.It received the licence on November 7 from the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), said a press release.

"We are excited to step into a new sector," said Khondoker Monir Uddin, chairman and managing director of business conglomerate Shanta Holdings Limited. "(The insurance sector) not only has a significant growth potential but also the ability to change livelihoods and contribute significantly to the financial sector," he said."Our mission is to elevate the standard of life insurance services offered in Bangladesh, with an aim to encourage financial literacy amongst the population," he said."Shanta has established a brand image and reputation of trust in the sectors we operate in," he said. "Now we are confident that we can extend the same dedication to the life insurance sector, in terms of offering quality products and services that bring financial stability to policyholders' lives," he added.

Currently, there are 35 life insurance and 46 non-life insurance companies in the country. Of them, 49 are listed on the stock market. The insurance industry's contribution to Bangladesh's growing gross domestic product (GDP) is only 0.4 per cent.Life insurance penetration, measured as the ratio of gross writen premium to GDP, has significantly gone down over the past decade to reach 0.5 per cent in 2021, according to the IDRA.