Lippo e-Net risks losing its business permit: Official<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Listed life insurer PT Lippo e-Net risks losing
\nits insurance business permit if it directly handles its Internet
\nbusiness, a senior insurance official has warned.<\/p>\n
Indomen Saragih, the director for insurance companies under
\nthe Directorate General of Financial Institutions at the finance
\nministry said on Tuesday that Lippo e-Net, previously known as
\nLippo Life, was licensed to provide life insurance, but not
\nInternet services as has been widely reported in the media.<\/p>\n
\"The company (Lippo e-Net) is therefore considered as
\nbreaching the law if it has a direct involvement in the Internet
\nbusiness in the sense that it sells Internet services to
\ncustomers,\" Indomen Saragih,<\/p>\n
Indomen said as an insurance company, Lippo e-Net was only
\nallowed to invest a portion of its investment funds in the form
\nof equity participation in an Internet business.<\/p>\n
He said that based on existing regulations an insurance
\ncompany was allowed to put a maximum of 10 percent of its total
\ninvestment portfolio in one or more non-listed companies as
\nequity participation.<\/p>\n
According to the law, an insurance company can invest up to 20
\npercent of its total investment in bank deposits and property
\nassets respectively.<\/p>\n
However, the law also states that an insurance company can
\nplace all of its investment funds in shares traded on the stock
\nmarket, but with a requirement to spread the risk by having a
\nmaximum of 20 percent of their investment portfolio in one
\ncompany share.<\/p>\n
Indomen asserted that the nature of an insurance company was
\nto sell insurance policies to the public, so it should not
\ndeviate from this main activity.<\/p>\n
If an insurance company was interested in a certain business
\nit could invest in it indirectly, but not by doing business
\ndirectly.<\/p>\n
Lippo e-Net has been in the spotlight following its name
\nchange and the transfer of most of its life insurance portfolios
\nto one of its affiliates to allow it to focus on its new Internet
\nservices.<\/p>\n
The management of the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) has asked
\nthe company to make a public disclosure if there was a change in
\nits core business. The company has denied it has changed its
\nname.<\/p>\n
\"Our company name is Asuransi Lippo e-Net, while (the shorter
\nversion of the name) Lippo e-Net is just the company brand name,\"
\nLippo e-Net director Junaedy Ganie said.<\/p>\n
He also said that the company remained in the insurance
\nbusiness despite the transfer of most of its insurance portfolio
\nto other companies.<\/p>\n
But, Indomen said that the change in the name of the company
\nhad not been registered. \"Based on the official registration book
\nthe name is still PT Lippo Life, not Lippo e-Net\" he added.<\/p>\n
An economist at state owned Bank Mandiri, Martin Panggabean,
\nsaid Lippo e-Net as an insurance company should not take on such
\na risky business as an Internet one.<\/p>\n
\"An insurance company should be conservative in its investment
\nstyle,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Internet business, Martin said, was still unproven as
\nnobody in this industry could really make profits yet.<\/p>\n
Junaedy said the company planned to launch an Internet Service
\nProvider (ISP) and start to sell Internet accounts to customers
\nby the second quarter of this year.<\/p>\n
\"We will do Internet business directly while most of our life
\ninsurance business activities will be carried out by our joint-
\nventure subsidiary,\" Junaedy said. (udi)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lippo-e-net-risks-losing-its-business-permit-official-1447893297",
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