SBI General Insurance Company, in which IAG has a 26% stake, is due to begin trading in India next month.

State Bank of India Chairman OP Bhatt said last week the joint venture insurance company will begin trading in April.

“The operations of our general insurance business in joint venture with the Insurance Australia Group will start from April and we will have pan-India presence soon,” Mr Bhatt said.

SBI holds a 74% stake in the venture, with IAG holding the rest. Its 26% holding is the maximum allowable under India’s current foreign investment laws, but has an option to increase it to 49% in future, subject to regulatory and other conditions.

The Australian insurer’s appointment to the business was announced in May 2008.

Mr Bhatt says SBI has ambitions to make the business a top three domestic player within a decade. The bank has more than 10,000 branches and 100 million customers across India.

The Indian general insurance market is projected to growth of between 15-20% a year for the next 10 years.