LIC makes stock market debut; Lists at 9% discount

 

Mumbai: Life Insurance Corporation of India made stock market debut on Tuesday at Rs 865 per share, which is around 9% lower than the issue price of Rs 949 a piece. At the BSE trading in LIC shares started at Rs 867.20. At 11.12 am, the scrip was trading at Rs 881.75 at the BSE. The share rose to a high of Rs 920 in the morning trade.

Speaking at the occasion at BSE, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said, ‘This is a momentous event. LIC IPO is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision. India is one of the most important emerging markets and it will be one of the fastest-growing economies in this decade’. ‘LIC Act was amended for the listing of IPO. Given the unprecedented size of the IPO special measures have been taken. Special drives were carried out to spread awareness for the policyholders. People enthusiastically participated and 73 lakh applications were received a record, and possibly it is the largest in the world ever while 50 lakh demat accounts were opened since then’, Pandey said.

Kaku Nakhate, the president and country head of Bank of America, said, ‘We take pride to be associated with it. It is the first insurance IPO in India. 7.3 million applications received for the IPO’.

The initial public offering of LIC has been subscribed 2.95 times. The IPO opened for public subscription on May 4 and closed on May 9. During the IPO subscription period, LIC shares enjoyed a premium in the range of Rs 8 to Rs 12 per share in the grey market. Grey market data indicates that LIC shares would list around Rs 15 to 20 below its issue price but policyholders and employees would still make a profit if this holds as they have got discounts.

The country’s largest insurer LIC has set its price band for the Initial Public Offer (IPO) at Rs 902 to Rs 949 per equity share. As the IPO is fully subscribed the issue price stands at Rs 949 per share. Policyholders have received a discount of Rs 60 per equity share, while retail investors and employees have been offered a discount of Rs 45 on each share.