MUMBAI: Insurance companies will soon be able to hit the capital markets, as IRDA chairman says the guidelines for IPOs for insurance companies will be out in a month's time.

The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority has finally cleared the suspense over the guidelines of the IPO listing for insurance companies. Speaking to Bloomberg UTV, the IRDA chairman has said the guidelines for the listing of IPOs will be out by February end.

The regulator however has given no indication on whether IRDA would remove the cap on the rule that a company only under 10 years of operation can go for an IPO. The Insurance Act says promoters having a 26 per cent stake can offload equity after the company completes 10 years of operations. The legislation also empowers the government to reduce the mandatory waiting period. There are presently 22 companies who are offering life insurance products and 21 involved in general insurance. Reliance Life Insurance is one such company that is waiting for a green signal to go public from IRDA and sources say many more will be in line!