NEW DELHI: The government plans to sell a 5% stake in the initial public offering of state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India, in what’s set to be the country’s largest sale.
The administration will sell about 31 crore shares in the wholly owned insurer, according to a draft prospectus filed with the market regulator Sunday. LIC’s so-called embedded value, a key metric for insurers that combines the current value of future profits with the net value of assets, is pegged at 5.4 trillion rupees ($72 billion).
India wants to complete the mega-IPO by the end of the financial year in March to help bridge a gaping budget deficit. The sale, touted as India’s Aramco moment in reference to the Gulf oil giant’s $29.4 billion listing, will test the depth of India’s capital markets. It will also evaluate global appetite for what some consider the state’s crown jewel while others question the autonomy of an institution regularly pressed into service to rescue teetering banks and public sector companies.
