MUMBAI, Apr 28 (NNN-PTI) – The initial public offering (IPO) of the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, will open on May 4, for the general public, the company’s top official said yesterday.
Describing it as India’s biggest public issue, LIC Chairman, M.R. Kumar said, the LIC initial public offer will be priced at 11.8-12.4 U.S. dollars per share.
The Indian government will dilute a 3.5 percent stake or 221.3 million shares through the IPO, to raise about 2.7 billion U.S. dollars.
“The initial aggressive valuation of LIC was 169.7 billion U.S. dollars, which has been cut by half to 78.3 billion U.S. dollars,” said Mohit Nigam, head of Portfolio Management Services, at Hem Securities, an Indian stock broker company.
This will make LIC the fifth most-valued listed company in India, ranking 186th in terms of market capitalisation globally, equity analysts said.
The size of the issue has been scaled down, due to recent capital outflows from India and other emerging economies, following the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The IPO will close on May 9, and the life insurer is likely to be listed on the stock exchange on May 17.
The listing of LIC is part of the Indian government’s long-term strategic vision and will highly enhance the value of the company in the long run, said a government official.– NNN-PTI
