NEW DELHI: The initial public offering (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) received good response, with investors subscribing 2. 95 times of the shares offered on the last day of its bidding.
The IPO received bids for 47.83 crore equity shares against the 16.2 crore equity shares on offer. A finance ministry official said the issue has been predominantly lifted by domestic investors.
According to the government,the shares will be allocated to the bidders on May 12 and the insurance company will be listed on May 17.
“The issues can be seen from the point of view of self reliant India also, as the major chunk has been subscribed by domestic investors. This shows that Indian investors can pull off such a big issue without depending upon foreign investors,” DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said when asked about the lukewarm response from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in the press conference.
He added that the FII will deepen the market.
Meanwhile, the DIPAM secretary clarified that as per the rules, the government can’t further dilute its stake beyond 3.5% for one year.
The bids received from policyholders were 6 times oversubscribed. LIC policyholders were offered a discount of Rs 60 per share, while retail investors and employees were given a discount of Rs 45 per share.
The qualified institutional buyer(QIB) section was subscribed 2.83 times for 11.2 crore equity shares against 3.95 crore shares on offer.
Meanwhile, retail investors subscribed 1.99 times with bids coming in for 13.77 crore shares as against 6.91 crore shares on offer. 2.96 crore shares were earmarked for the non-institutional investors and they bid for 8.61 crore shares, reflecting a subscription of 2.91 times.
Government on LIC public issue
Government says the shares will be allocated to the bidders on May 12 and the insurance company will be listed on May 17. DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey clarified that as per the rules, the government can’t further dilute its stake beyond 3.5% for one year