10% of LIC IPO issue to be reserved for policyholders

New Delhi: Up to 10 per cent of the LIC IPO issue size would be reserved for policyholders, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday. The government will remain the majority shareholder and will continue to retain management control safeguarding the interest of policyholders, he said.

“In the Finance Bill 2021-22, it has been proposed to have a reservation on a competitive basis, to an extent of up to 10 per cent of the issue size, in favour of life insurance policyholders of LIC,” Thakur said in a written reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha.

In her Budget Speech 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) would be launched in the next financial year, beginning April 1. The LIC Amendment Act has been made part of the Finance Bill, thereby bringing the required legislative amendment for launching IPO of the country’s largest life insurer.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), which manages the government’s equity in state-owned companies, has already selected actuarial firm Milliman Advisors for ascertaining the embedded value of LIC. Deloitte and SBI Caps have been appointed as pre-IPO transaction advisors.

The Budget 2021-22 has set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore, higher than the Rs 32,000 crore estimated to be garnered in the current fiscal. Of the Rs 1.75 lakh crore, Rs 1 lakh crore is to come from selling government stake in public sector banks and financial institutions, and Rs 75,000 crore would come as CPSE disinvestment receipts.