LIC, Biggest-Ever IPO For India, Will See Rules Being Changed: Report
NDTV
From adjusting capital-markets rules to sending phone messages and publishing newspaper advertisements, authorities and executives are leaving no stone unturned in trying to ensure Life Insurance Corp. of Indias record initial public offering is a success.
From adjusting capital-markets rules to sending phone messages and publishing newspaper advertisements, authorities and executives are leaving no stone unturned in trying to ensure Life Insurance Corp. of India's record initial public offering is a success.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has the IPO -- which could raise between Rs 40,000 crore ($5.4 billion) and Rs 1 lakh crore this quarter -- as a key item in its economic agenda, with proceeds from the state-run insurer essential to reaching a budget-deficit target.
“The size of LIC is breathtaking,” said Abhay Agarwal, fund manager at Mumbai-based Piper Serica Advisors Pvt. While it might be easy for the government to make regulatory amendments needed for the IPO, “it will require significant marketing efforts to cross the Rs 50,000 crore line,” he added.
Authorities will review and amend rules on foreign-direct investment to make it easier to lure investors from abroad, an official said this month without specifying a time-frame. Equity stakes among foreigners are allowed for most Indian insurers, but not in LIC, which is a special entity created by an act of Parliament.
