The government has submitted the draft documents for the IPO of LIC with the market regulator SEBI. Along with this, the exercise of wooing big foreign investors for the country’s biggest IPO has also started. LIC’s IPO is expected to come in March and the government is leaving no stone unturned to make it a success.
Bankers and finance minister officials told ET that several funds, including Capital Group, Aberdeen Asset Management, California University Endowment, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Singapore’s GIC, participated in the roadshows held on Monday. Three Canadian pension funds Standard Life, HSBC MF and Franklin Templeton also participated. It is being organized virtually due to restrictions related to Corona.
how much will the government earn
According to sources, some domestic institutional investors are also participating. A source said that informal talks with investors were already going on but now it has started formally. This is the biggest high-profile share sale ever and we need to be 100 per cent sure of participation. The source said that the market is currently in a downtrend and we have less time left for the IPO, so we did not delay in launching the roadshow.
Through this IPO, the government is hoping to raise $ 10 billion, or about Rs 75,000 crore. LIC’s IPO is also considered important for the government’s disinvestment target in this financial year. According to the draft documents, the government is selling five per cent stake in LIC. Under this, about 31.6 crore shares will be sold. ADIA declined to comment on this. Other investors and LIC also did not immediately comment.