Govt cuts LIC IPO size to 3.5%, issue to hit markets in May 1st week: Sources
New Delhi, Apr 23: The government is likely to cut the size of the initial public offering of LIC to 3.5 per cent to raise around Rs 21,000 crore from the issue which would hit the capital markets in the first week of the next month.
The government in February had planned to sell a 5 per cent stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). However, the ongoing market volatility due to the Russia-Ukraine war has made it lower the IPO size.
At this price, LIC, which is 100 per cent government-owned, is valued at Rs 6 lakh crore.
LIC is likely to file the red herring prospectus with market regulator Sebi by Wednesday.
"LIC IPO is likely to come to the market in May first week. 3.5 per cent stake dilution, subject to regulatory approval," an official said.
Reservations for policyholders and employees, and discounts, issue dates and issue price will be known by Wednesday, the official added.
In February, LIC had filed draft papers with Sebi wherein it had said that the government will sell 5 per cent stake or 31.6 crore shares in the state-run insurer.
LIC's embedded value, which is a measure of the consolidated shareholders value in an insurance company, was pegged at about Rs 5.4 lakh crore as of September 30, 2021, by international actuarial firm Milliman Advisors.
LIC IPO would contribute a major chunk to the budgeted disinvestment proceeds in the current fiscal.
The government has pegged disinvestment receipts at Rs 65,000 crore in the current fiscal, up from Rs 13,531 crore raised in the last fiscal.
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PM Modi holds talks with French President Macron in Mumbai
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held wide-ranging talks with French President Emmanuel Macron to boost ties in key sectors such as trade, defence, energy and critical technologies.
Macron landed in Mumbai early this morning on a three-day visit to attend the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi and meet PM Modi.
After the talks with Modi, Macron will attend a ceremony to launch the India-France Year of Innovation.
His visit comes days after India cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework with France.
It has been billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.
It is learnt that shoring up defence cooperation and enhancing bilateral engagement in the critical technology sector are priority areas to take forward the ties.
"Welcome to India! India looks forward to your visit and to advancing our bilateral ties to new heights. I am confident that our discussions will further strengthen cooperation across sectors and contribute to global progress," Modi said on social media earlier in the day in response to a post by Macron.
