Nigeria's Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) has acquired a 35 percent stake in Society Nouvelle d'Assurance du Rwanda (Sonarwa) for $4 million, an official told Nigeria Today Online. IGI has operations in Ghana, Gambia and Uganda and is eyeing markets in Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the chief executive said. "As part of our drive to roll out operations across the African continent, we have acquired a 35 percent shareholding in Sonarwa," Chief Executive Remi Olowude said. "Within two years, we will have increased our shareholding to 51 percent."

 Other shareholders in Sonarwa, Rwanda's biggest insurance company, are Rwanda's Premier Investment, National Pension Fund and the government. In 2007, IGI posted gross turnover of $62 million, Oluwude said. He expected IGI Nigeria, National Insurance Cooperation of Uganda and the newly acquired Sonarwa to list on their respective bourses before the end of the year. The amount of shares IGI Nigeria would list on the Lagos stock market is still under discussions, he said. The Rwandan government plans to sell its 10 percent shareholding on the Kigali bourse. IGI is also looking to invest in real estate, banking and agribusiness in Rwanda and has bought premises on which it plans to set up a five-star hotel in Kigali. "The Rwandan government has succeeded in creating an investment climate that is one of the best in Africa. Money goes to stable areas, and I have seen stability and a committed government here," Olowude said.