28.6 C
Port Louis
Friday, March 29, 2024

Download The App:

Read in French

spot_img

LIC IPO: On Day 1, Overall Subscription At 67%

Must Read

Life Insurance Corporation’s (LIC) public offer, the country’s biggest-ever IPO, saw the policyholders’ portion being oversubscribed on the first day itself on Wednesday, though overall subscription stood at 67 per cent, even as a surprise rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) roiled markets.

Investors bid for 108.7 million shares on Wednesday, compared with the total 162.1 million shares on offer, with the portions reserved for employees and policyholders already oversubscribed, exchange data showed.

The demand for LIC’s IPO came even as the stock market (.NSEI) fell 2.3% after the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly hiked interest rates to tame inflation.

The Indian government expects to raise up to $2.7 billion, 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, is offering a discount to employees and retail investors of 45 rupees per share. LIC policyholders will be offered a discount of 60 rupees per share.

“There could be some impact on listing gains, but we still feel the IPO will fly through. The real test will be on Thursday when we should see the entire impact of the rate hike in markets,” Shah said.

The portion set aside for policyholders was subscribed 1.99 times at the end of bidding on Wednesday, employees by 1.17 times and retail investors by 0.6 times.

“Compared to private players, LIC’s targeted valuation at 1.1 times its embedded value offers a significant discount, which will be a comfort for investors,” said Sneha Poddar, research analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

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% for non-institutional investors.

LIC shares were trading in the “grey” market at a premium of 95 rupees, around 1,044 rupees apiece.

Policyholders were also flooded with text messages earlier this year recommending they open an electronic stock holding account early so they can take part in the IPO.

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 hikes 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.

- Advertisement -spot_img

More Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -spot_img

Latest Articles