China's Tencent Raises Bets In India, Enters Insurance Market Having already invested in the likes of Swiggy and Byju's, the Chinese tech company is betting big on Indian start-ups.

By Debroop Roy

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Pixabay

China's Tencent Holdings has acquired a 10 per cent stake in Indian insurance aggregator Policybazaar for $150 million, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the deal.

Tencent reportedly bought half of Tiger Global's stake in the venture. The investment puts Policybazaar's valuation at $1.5 billion, the report said.

Tencent picking up a stake in Policybazaar follows its investments in several well-known Indian start-ups including Flipkart, Ola and Swiggy.

Betting Big On Indian Start-Ups

Tencent has invested more than $2 billion in Indian start-ups. Last month, the Chinese technology company led a $110 million funding round in Times Internet-backed MX Player, a video player-cum-streaming platform.

Earlier this year, Tencent invested in Bengaluru-based banking start-up NiYO.

Some of Tencent's start-up investments in India are already unicorns, namely food delivery company Swiggy, edtech platform Byju's and sports fantasy gaming firm Dream11.

This comes on the back of slowing investments in Tencent's home country. TechCrunch reported in July that investment in start-ups in China fell 54 per cent in the first half of 2019, from a year earlier.

Some of the other Chinese companies betting big on the Indian start-up space include Alibaba and SoftBank Group.

What About Policybazaar?

Policybazaar has quietly made a name for itself in the Indian insurance space, with its mobile application having over a million downloads on Google Play Store.

The platform, essentially an insurance aggregator, lets people compare and choose different kinds of policies online. According to its website, one can compare over 250 insurance plans. Policybazaar claims to have helped provide more than INR 10 lakh crore in insurance so far.

Considering how under-insured most of India currently is, it presents a massive opportunities for players such as Policybazaar. A report by India Brand Equity Foundation stated that overall insurance penetration in India reached 3.69 per cent in 2017.

India's insurance industry is expected to cross INR 19 lakh crore by 2020, the IBEF report said.

Other than insurance, the company also offers options for investment, including retirement and tax-saving plans.

Debroop Roy

Former Correspondent

Covering the start-up ecosystem in and around Bangalore. Formerly an energy reporter at Reuters. A film, cricket buff who also writes fiction on weekends.
Business News

'I Love Doing Product Reviews': Bill Gates Stepped Down from Microsoft in 2020, But Admits He Still Spends 15% of His Time Working at the Company

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates also said he is still close with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella.

Business News

'Everyone Can Profit From It': What Is DeepSeek? China's 'Cheap' to Make AI Chatbot Climbs to the Top of Apple, Google U.S. App Stores

DeepSeek researchers claim it was developed for less than $6 million, a contrast to the $100 million it takes U.S. tech startups to create AI.

Franchise

Franchise Models Explained — How to Choose the Right One for Your Goals

Navigating the franchise world starts with understanding key business models. Here's how project-based and subscription franchises differ in investment, scalability, and recession resistance.

News and Trends

Shadowfax Acquires CriticaLog to Enhance High-Value Logistics Operations

Shadowfax currently handles over 2 million packages daily. With this acquisition, the company aims to address growing demand for secure and efficient logistics solutions for high-value goods in India

Business News

Elon Musk's DOGE Is Hiring People Eager to 'Work Long Hours' to Eliminate 'Waste, Fraud and Abuse' in the Government. Here's How to Apply.

The Department of Government Efficiency is hiring U.S. citizens to help cut spending and headcounts in the federal government.

Leadership

Doing Well by Doing Good — How Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurs Are Changing the World

Exploring the transformative impact of mission-driven business leadership.