KATHMANDU, JUNE 20
National Life Insurance Company successfully held its 37th Annual General Meeting (AGM), under the chairmanship of Prema Singh in Kathmandu on Thursday. The AGM also approved a total 15% dividend to shareholders, including 10% cash and 5% bonus shares.
During the meeting, Chairperson Singh noted that fiscal year 2080/81 remained economically challenging due to the prolonged impact of COVID-19, geopolitical tensions, and adverse weather conditions. These factors disrupted supply chains, increased prices of essentials, and slowed demand across sectors, further affecting the national economy. Despite the sluggish recovery, she highlighted that external economic indicators remain positive and expressed optimism for gradual domestic improvement.
The company recorded a 21.90% rise in total insurance premium, reaching Rs 20.49 billion. Of this, Rs 13.68 billion was added to total insurance liabilities, which saw a 21.70% increase, reaching Rs 79.60 billion by the end of the fiscal year. The company settled claims worth Rs 8.32 billion, including death claims, maturity benefits, partial maturity, surrender values, and other payments.
The company's total investment grew by 17.35% to Rs 70.15 billion, with a 9.17% average annual return, the press release issued by the company.
National Life completed the construction of its Nepalgunj branch office, which is now operational, and has begun construction of a new commercial building for its Itahari branch. The company also plans to expand investments in fixed assets and diversify its portfolio further, it noted.
Significant investments are also being made in technology upgrades and employee training to strengthen service delivery and internal capacity, it added.
The AGM also approved a 10% cash dividend (Rs 521.2 million) and a 5% bonus share dividend (Rs 260.6 million), along with Rs 41.1 million for tax purposes. With the issuance of bonus shares, the company's paid-up capital will increase from Rs 5.21 billion to Rs 5.47 billion, meeting the mandatory capital requirement set by the Nepal Insurance Authority for life insurance companies.
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment, the company allocated 1% of its net profit to CSR initiatives, focusing mainly on health and education. It donated Rs 2.5 million to the Kathmandu Institute of Child Health for a child health project during the review year.
The AGM elected the following board members unopposed:
From promoter shareholders: Prema Rajya Laxmi Singh, Rathi Pawan Bahadur Pandey (Alt. Director), and Kushal Malla. From public shareholders:
Kuldeep Sharan Singh and Bhawani Rana
Chairperson Singh reaffirmed the company's commitment to continue playing a leading role in addressing the life insurance needs of the Nepali people.
