Health minister, his sister to sell inherited shares of Sunlife Insurance

Health Minister Zahid Maleque and his sister Rubina Hamid are set to sell some more of Sunlife Insurance shares that they inherited from their deceased mother.

On 3 December, out of their entire holding of 1.54 crore shares at Sunlife, the health minister and his family completed the sale of 1.34 crore shares to Green Delta Insurance for Tk67 crore through the block market of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

Zahid Maleque's mother Fouzia Maleque, who was a sponsor director at Sunlife, passed away in May 2021. She had 12.24 lakh shares in the company, which were then transferred to her successors as per an order from the High Court.

In a DSE disclosure on Wednesday, the life insurer stated that Zahid Maleque will sell 8.16 lakh shares and Rubina Hamid 5.58 lakh shares, including the inherited shares, to Green Delta Insurance as per the share purchase agreement between the two parties.

At Sunlife Insurance, Zahid Maleque was a sponsor and Rubina Hamid a director.

Earlier, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), with a no objection certificate from the insurance regulator Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra), approved the share transaction deal between the parties.

According to a BSEC letter issued on 16 November, the new owners shall form a 13-member board of directors, where each director will hold 2% or more shares of the company.

The shares will be locked in for two years, which means, during this period, the new directors will not be able to sell the shares.

The letter also stated that in the future, if any inconsistency is found and proven in submitted documents and declarations, this approval will be considered cancelled.

Sunlife's present situation

Sunlife Insurance is mainly engaged in individual life, Islamic individual life and group life insurance businesses.

Recently, the company has been facing challenges in settling claims of its policyholders. Some of the clients even sued the company's high officials including chairman and CEO.

This June, the Idra appointed an observer to protect the interest of policyholders and ensure good governance in the company.

The Idra stated that policyholders are constantly filing complaints due to non-payment of insurance claims on time by Sunlife Insurance.

According to the company's half-yearly financials in 2023, its total outstanding claim stood at Tk30 crore at the end of June this year.