Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is currently on a visit to the US to attend International Monetary Fund events. A decision on the dates of LIC’s IPO can be taken as soon as he returns from America. There is a possibility that the Finance Minister may return from America on Thursday night or Friday.
According to an official, the size of LIC may also increase. However, it will depend on the response received from potential anchor investors and the market conditions. If market conditions remain favorable and there is a positive response from investors, the size of the IPO could exceed 6 per cent.
Better performance in last financial year
LIC has had a better financial performance in the last financial year 2021-22. The premium collection for the first year in the financial year ended March 31 has been Rs 1.98 lakh crore. There has been an increase of 7.9 percent. However, LIC’s market share has come down to 63.25 percent from 71 percent last year as compared to the financial year 2020-21. LIC has received a total premium of Rs 42,319.22 crore in March, which is 51 percent higher than the same period last year. This performance will help the government to attract investors to invest in LIC’s IPO.
The sale of five per cent stake or 316 million shares in LIC was earlier scheduled to take place in March but was postponed in view of geopolitical tensions. The government has time till May 12 to bring an initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) without filing fresh documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). An official said that a decision on when to bring the IPO could be taken this week.