Insurance giant LIC's $2.7 bln IPO, India's largest, opens for subscription; employees protest

Record ID: 1671303

  • Title: Insurance giant LIC's $2.7 bln IPO, India's largest, opens for subscription; employees protest
  • Date: 4th May 2022
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (FILE - APRIL 27, 2022) (ANI - No use India) LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION (LIC) BUILDING/VEHICLES PLYING VARIOUS LIC BANNER READING (Hindi/English): "WITH YOU EVERY MOMENT" EXTERIOR OF LIC BUILDING READING: "LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION BUILDING" ENTRANCE GATE OF LIC BUILDING MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA (MAY 04, 2022) (ANI - No use India) (SOUNDBITE) (English) STOCK MARKET EXPERT, SUNIL SHAH, SAYING: "Here if you see, the valuation is very reasonable. It is the largest insurance provider in the country and if you see in the foreign countries, this insurance…the life insurance companies, they have great balance sheets. So has LIC. And the penetration…imagine the penetration of life insurance in our country is below 5 percent. So, there is a huge scope, there is a huge growth going forward." VARIOUS OF BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE (BSE) BUILDING SCREEN SHOWING SENSEX TALLY (SOUNDBITE) (English) STOCK MARKET EXPERT, SUNIL SHAH, SAYING: "It is very exciting, yes. On listing, on the near jump, we cannot predict the price movement and how the response of the investors will be, but in the long run, certainly, it's a blue-chip." COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA (MAY 04, 2022) (ANI - No use India) EXTERIOR OF LIC BUILDING BANNER OF ALL INDIA INSURANCE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION EXTERIOR OF LIC BUILDING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SLOGANEERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOINT SECRETARY, ALL INDIA INSURANCE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, GIRIJA (the last name not given), SAYING: "This IPO (initial public offering) is going to be detrimental to the interests of the policyholders and the detriment to the interests of the Indian economy and the public at large. So, only today we are vehemently opposing this IPO listing." VARIOUS OF EMPTY LIC OFFICE
  • Embargoed: 18th May 2022 10:10
  • Keywords: IPO India LIC employees insurance company life insurance listings protests shares stocks union
  • Location: NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA/COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
  • City: NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA/COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Company News Markets,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA001GAKSUA7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: State-owned Life Insurance Corp's (LIC) $2.7 billion IPO, India's largest, opened to subscriptions from retail and other investors on Wednesday (May 4) following strong demand from anchor investors led by domestic mutual funds.
    The Indian government expects to raise the sum, just a third of its original target, from selling a 3.5% stake in the country's top insurance company, giving it an initial value of $78.52 billion.
    The subscription, set to close on May 9, will offer a discount to employees and retail investors of 45 rupees per share. LIC policyholders will be offered a discount of 60 rupees per share.
    The price range for the issue has been set between 902 rupees and 949 rupees per share.
    After a reservation for employees and policyholders, the remaining shares will be allocated in a ratio of 50% to qualified institutional buyers, 35% to retail investors, and 15% to non-institutional investors.
    The final IPO price will be determined after the subscription closes.
    "The penetration of life insurance in our country is below 5 percent. So, there is a huge scope, there is a huge growth going forward," said the stock market expert, Sunil Shah.
    The 59.3 million shares set aside for anchor investors were subscribed at 949 rupees apiece. Norwegian wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management and the Government of Singapore joined the anchor book, along with several domestic mutual funds.
    The employees working at LIC did not take the development positively. Employees at the Coimbatore branch emptied their workspace for two hours and staged a protest.
    The government had initially wanted to list LIC in the financial year that ended March 31 but chose to delay the sale after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate tightening triggered a market rout.
    The 66-year-old company dominates India's insurance sector, with more than 280 million policies. It was the fifth-biggest global insurer in terms of insurance premium collection in 2020, the latest year for which statistics are available.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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