Now Reading: Government raises $3.3 billion in surprise LIC share sale
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Government raises $3.3 billion in surprise LIC share sale
The government raised $3.3 billion by selling shares in Life Insurance Corp. of India through an unusually fast offer for sale, more than doubling the planned transaction, Livemint reports. It was the…
The Story in Brief
The government raised $3.3 billion by selling shares in Life Insurance Corp. of India through an unusually fast offer for sale, more than doubling the planned transaction, Livemint reports. It was the biggest secondary offering through a stock exchange in India, according to the report.
Officials kept the launch date, price and size confidential to limit pre-sale trading, with some advisers informed only hours before the exchange filing. Institutional investors subscribed to the initial 2.5% stake 3.32 times, prompting the government to sell an additional 4%. The overall issue was subscribed 1.2 times, while the retail portion reached 69%. LIC’s public shareholding will rise to 10%, ahead of the May 2027 regulatory deadline.
The Indian Opinion
The masterstroke-of-secrecy narrative and claims of opaque policymaking both run ahead of the evidence. The tight process appears to have limited pre-sale speculation, and institutional demand was strong, but retail investors subscribed to just 69% of their portion. Advisers working without fees reflect unusual incentives around government deals, not necessarily savings for taxpayers. The harder test is LIC’s market performance and whether public shareholding reaches 10% without further price pressure.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
