Europe's biggest bank, HSBC plc has said that it is planning to sell its 26 per cent stake in a life insurance joint venture, which it runs in association with two Indian state-run banks.

It is believed that Canada's Manulife Financial Corp and the Indian unit of Standard Life are among the bidders interested to acquire HSBC's stake Indian life insurance business, which is estimated to be valued at around $200 million.

HDFC Life, a joint venture between India's HDFC Ltd and British insurer Standard Life, Birla Sun Life, a venture between Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group and Canada's Sun Life and ICICI Prudential Life, a joint venture between India's ICICI Bank and UK's Prudential are among the firms bidding for the stake in the first round.

HSBC's partners in India, Canara Bank Ltd and Oriental Bank of Commerce might also sell their stake in the venture, according to the people closer to the matter. However, the two banks have not announced any intention of selling their stakes yet. The winner of the bidding will be able to gain access to about 5,500 branches of the two state-run banks in the country.