Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Reviews LIC IPO Progress; Key Things We Know So Far

LIC IPO Update: The initial public offer, or IPO, of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India is set to be floated very soon. The operations for the same are in full swing and one can only wait for the insurer to announce the date for the IPO to open. Amid all the paperwork and other such processes regarding the LIC IPO, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviews its progress. The LIC IPO, touted to be the biggest ever in the country’s history, is expected to hit the markets by March, the government has indicated. However, the  exact date or the price band of the issue has not yet been announced by the government.

Here are the most important things we know so far about the LIC IPO that is set to be floated in March this year:

– Union finance minister on Friday reviewed the progress of the planned disinvestment of the country’s largest insurer LIC. “Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman reviewed progress of the LIC IPO in New Delhi today in presence of @SecyDIPAM; Secretary @DFS_India and Senior Officials @LICIndiaForever and @FinMinIndia via VC,” the finance ministry tweeted.

– The LIC IPO is expected to get its draft papers filed with the Sebi by the third week of January, according to a report by the Times of India. This is in line with the government’s claims to float the IPO by the end of the 2022 fiscal. LIC IPO is crucial for meeting the Rs 1.75-lakh crore disinvestment target set for current fiscal (April-March). So far this fiscal, Rs 9,330 crore has been mopped up through PSU disinvestment. The government is in the process of deciding the quantum of government stake that will be divested through the IPO.

– LIC shares will be provided at a discount to policyholders, the company has said. It has also urged policyholders to open a demat account and link Aadhaar with LIC in order to buy shares during the public offer — a part of which will be set aside exclusively for them. In a notification dated December 2, the insurance company said, “In order to participate in any such public offering policyholders will need to ensure that their PAN details are updated in the corporations records. Further, subscribing to any public offering in India is possible if you have a valid demat account. Accordingly policyholders must ensure that they have a valid demat account in place.”

– The central government has refuted claims around the LIC IPO. The Centre, last month, dismissed media speculations claiming that the government is unlikely to come up with the LIC IPO in the current financial year ending March 2022. The Secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management in a tweet said that the plan is on course, and said that the reports were not correct.

– The government has shortlisted Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as a legal advisor on upcoming mega IPO of LIC. Apart from the legal advisor, the government has appointed 10 top global and Indian merchant banks to manage the initial public offer of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. It has also selected Concept Communications as the advertising agency and Kfintech as the registrar and share transfer agent for the IPO. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management said in a that it has appointed Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Nomura, Bank of America Securities, JM Financial, SBI Caps, Kotak Mahindra Capital, ICICI Securities and Axis Capital to manage the IPO.

(With PTI inputs)

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