Dhaka, June 3 (IANS): Bangladesh's insurance sector regulator has approved the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to operate in the country, a media report said on Wednesday.

“We have given LIC a letter of consent upon certain conditions. They will be able to start operations once they are fulfilled," bdnews24.com quoted Bangladesh Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) chief M. Shefaq Ahmed as saying.

A joint venture entity with the paid-up capital of one billion taka (around $13 million) -- LIC Bangladesh Ltd. -- will be created for this purpose.

LIC will own half of this paid-up capital while the other half will be owned by the Bangladeshi partners.

Earlier in 2013, a proposal by LIC to get itself registered in Bangladesh was turned down by the Bangladeshi authorities, who advised the Indian insurance market leader to raise the capital base. LIC's 2013 proposal had a paid-up capital of 300 million taka to begin operations in the South Asian country.

The fresh proposal was cleared on May 31 this year.

The IDRA plans to hand over its consent letter to LIC chairman S.K. Roy during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Dhaka visit on June 6 and 7.