Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, May 17: The BSE has listed Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) at Rs 867.20 per share, a drop of 8.62 percent, or Rs 81.80, from its IPO allotment price of Rs 949.
As of 10.25 a.m. Indian Standard Time (IST), the insurance behemoth’s shares were trading at Rs 904, up over 4% from their listing price of Rs 867.20 and over 5% below their issue price of Rs 949 per share.
The insurance behemoth’s NSE listing price was Rs 872, representing an 8.11 percent decrease from the issue price of Rs 949 per share. The stock was last trading at Rs 914.75 on the NSE, down 3.61 percent.
On Tuesday, Indian equities indexes climbed for the second day in a row as investors awaited the market debut of state-owned Life Insurance Corp, while the rupee fell to an all-time low.
The offering comes at a time when financial markets have been roiled by fears of stagflation, as major central banks prepare to boost interest rates aggressively to confront multi-decade high inflation. Foreign capital outflows, fueled by the dollar’s attraction and a general surge in flight-to-safety trades, have hammered emerging market assets.
LIC’s IPO received a huge response despite the severe swings in global financial markets. The sale was approximately three times oversubscribed, with policyholders bidding for over six times the number of shares available.
Indeed, the LIC IPO, India’s largest to date, was approximately three times subscribed, primarily by retail and institutional investors, while international investor involvement was low.
After a successful initial public offering that netted the government Rs 20,557 crore, LIC set the issue price of its shares at Rs 949 a share.
After taking into account the reduction, LIC policyholders and retail investors were able to purchase the shares for Rs 889 and Rs 904, respectively. On Tuesday, the shares were listed on the BSE and NSE at a discount of Rs 81.80 and Rs 77 per share, respectively, to their issue price of Rs 949 per share.
Through the IPO, the government sold approximately 22.13 crore shares or a 3.5 percent stake in LIC. The issue’s price range was Rs 902-949 per share. On May 12, however, investors were given shares at the top of the price band.
