LIC IPO: State insurer to be listed by Q4 FY22

The Centre aims to list state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India by the last quarter of the current financial year. Merchant bankers for the transaction will be appointed soon.

Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, "We are looking at the fourth quarter and work on several fronts is progressing for the IPO," as reported.

Pandey said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will decide on the exact quantum of share sale. The department of financial services is working on fulfilling the requirements of the IPO, said Pandey.

The DIPAM secretary said that the draft prospectus for the listing will also be filed soon. The LIC Act of 1956 has also been amended and the rules have been notified. Discussions with the stock market regulator are underway to comply with the requirements for the IPO.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared the initial public offering of LIC on Monday. To facilitate the IPO, the government has also given its nod to raising the insurance behemoth's authorised share capital to Rs 25,000 crore. Besides, the Department of Economic Affairs, under the Finance Ministry, recently also amended the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules.

The listing of LIC will be crucial for the government to meet its disinvestment target. The government aims to mop up Rs 1.75 lakh crore in the current fiscal from minority stake sales and privatisation.