Yerevan, November 27 /Mediamax/. The Russian “RESO” Insurance Group plans to open its subsidiary company jointly with the “Uniastrum Bank” in Armenia in the second quarter of 2007.

Mediamax reports that the President of the “RESO” Group Sergey Sarkisov said this. According to him, the 50% share of the subsidiary company will belong to “RESO”, and the other half - to the “Uniastrum Bank”.

Sergey Sarkisov stated that the decision to set up the company in the second quarter of 2007 is reasoned by the fact that the system of regulating the insurance market is being reconsidered now in Armenia and temporarily there are no licenses granted.

The Moscow “Business” newspaper quotes today the General Director of the “RESO-Guaranty” Company Dmitri Rakovshik, who stated that the company, named “UniRESO”, will start functioning in mid-2007.

Member of the Board of directors of the “Uniastrum Bank” and the chairman of the Armenian “Unibank” Gagik Zakarian told “Business” that the new insurance company is already registered and the enrolment of the staff is in process now. “The operative management will be taken up by the “RESO-Guaranty”, and the Board of directors will probably headed by me. In Armenia the insurer will provide a whole range of services, as well as the insurance of credit products of “Unibank”, he added.

According to the research of the “Interfax-CEA”, the insurance market of Armenia is one of the most underdeveloped among the CIS states. As for July 1, 2005, the total assets of the Armenian insurers [there are les than 20 companies functioning on the market] stood at $14,4mln. The market concentration, according to “Interfax-CEA”, is very high: by the results of 2004, more than the half of the aggregate premium fell on the share of one company – “INGO Armenia”, the subsidiary structure of “Ingosstrakh”.

For the development of the insurance market, the Central Bank of Armenia holds reformation of the basic norms. The requirements as to the minimal authorized capital stock have already been made stricter - starting from January 2006, its minimal norm is raised up to 200mln AMD, and by January 1, 2008, it will already make 500mln AMD.