New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said insurance major Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India will be listed on the bourses as part of the government disinvestment initiative. Riding high on listing of LIC and privatisation of Air India and BPCL, and other state-owned entities, the government has set a divestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore for FY21.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India will be listed on the bourses as part of the government disinvestment initiative. Riding high on listing of LIC and privatisation of Air India and BPCL, and other state-owned entities, the government has set a divestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore for FY21.
In her Budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government proposes to sell a part of its holding in LIC by initial public offering (IPO). The minister, however, did not reveal the percentage of holding that it would sell.
Currently, the government holds the entire 100 per cent stake in insurance behemoth LIC, which is a big investor in share sales, including IPOs of state-run companies. In April last year, LIC acquired controlling stake in state-run lender IDBI Bank, thereby making it a private sector bank.
The 60-year-old state-owned firm, LIC, is the country’s largest insurer, controlling more than 70 per cent of the market share. The insurer has a market share of 76.28 per cent in number of policies and 71 per cent in first-year premiums.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said insurance major Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India will be listed on the bourses as part of the government disinvestment initiative. Riding high on listing of LIC and privatisation of Air India and BPCL, and other state-owned entities, the government has set a divestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore for FY21.
In her Budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government proposes to sell a part of its holding in LIC by initial public offering (IPO). The minister, however, did not reveal the percentage of holding that it would sell.
Currently, the government holds the entire 100 per cent stake in insurance behemoth LIC, which is a big investor in share sales, including IPOs of state-run companies. In April last year, LIC acquired controlling stake in state-run lender IDBI Bank, thereby making it a private sector bank.
The 60-year-old state-owned firm, LIC, is the country’s largest insurer, controlling more than 70 per cent of the market share. The insurer has a market share of 76.28 per cent in number of policies and 71 per cent in first-year premiums.
According to an industry expert, if LIC get listed on exchanges, it would become India’s largest company by market capitalisation, overtaking the likes of Reliance Industries (RIL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Given LIC’s small equity base, the proposed IPO is likely to fetch a huge premium to the exchequer.
