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Video: ‘3..2…1’- The moment LIC made much-anticipated market debut
Founded in 1956 by nationalising and combining more than 240 firms, LIC has for decades been the synonymous with life insurance until the entry of private companies in 2000, experts say. The LIC IPO - India's largest - fetched the government ₹20,557 crore.
After India's largest ever initial public offering (IPO), the Life Insurance Corp (LIC) made its debut on the stock market on Tuesday. In a video shared on the official Twitter page of the Bombay Stock Exchange, LIC chairperson Mangalam Ramasubramanian Kumar was seen ringing the opening bell with BSE CEO Ashish Chauchan and DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) Secy Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
LIC slumps in debut
In the pre-open trade, LIC was reported to have listed its shares at a discount of 8.11 per cent at ₹872 per share on the National Stock Exchange index Nifty. On BSE Sensex, the shares were listed at ₹867.20 a piece, down 8.62 per cent over the issue price. LIC had fixed the issue price of its shares at ₹949 a piece. The initial public offering fetched ₹20,557 crore to the government.
LIC IPO is India’s largest IPO till date
The LIC IPO - India's largest to date - closed with nearly 3 times subscription, predominantly lapped up by retail and institutional buyers, but foreign investor participation remained muted. Before this, the amount mobilised from the Paytm IPO in 2021 was the largest ever at ₹18,300 crore, followed by Coal India (2010) at nearly ₹15,500 crore and Reliance Power (2008) at ₹11,700 crore.
| Top four IPOs in India (Source: PTI) | |
| LIC IPO | ₹20,557 crore |
| Paytm IPO | ₹18,300 crore |
| Coal India IPO | ₹15,500 crore |
| Reliance Power IPO | ₹11,700 crore |
The 65-year-old company dominates India's insurance sector, with more than 280 million policies, Reuters reported. It was the fifth-biggest global insurer in terms of insurance premium collection in 2020, the latest year for which statistics are available.
(With PTI, Reuters inputs)
