Why is LIC keeping IPO open on Saturday for retail investors?
LIC, the country's oldest insurer, was founded in the late 1950s and had the market to itself until the government opened it up to private competition in 2000. It is still India's largest insurer, with a sales agent in practically every neighbourhood across the 1.4 billion-person country.
FollowThe Life Insurance Corporation of India's initial public offering will accept subscriptions on Saturday, an unprecedented approach aimed at enticing investors, including retail customers, for the country's largest share sale.
"This is a little out of the ordinary for a share sale. However, given the sheer scale of the LIC IPO and the overwhelming demand from ordinary investors," said Kranthi Bathini, chief market strategist at WealthMills Securities in Mumbai. "This may put some additional strain on the system," he added. However, the Indian capital market architecture is designed to allow for bidding on Saturday as well.
The IPO, which began on Wednesday, will be available through May 9, including Saturday, according to an announcement on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. The Indian government is selling 221.4 million LIC shares for 902 to 949 rupees apiece, raising up to 210 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) at the high end of the range.
Retail investors will receive 35% of the total shares in the sale, as well as a 45-rupee reduction off the IPO price. Meanwhile, about 10% of the float has been set aside for LIC policyholders, who would receive a 60-rupee discount on each share. Because the minimum bid lot size is 15 shares, a retail investor would have to pay at least 13,560 rupees ($177) for a stake. Policyholders must spend a minimum of 13,335 rupees.
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LIC, the country's oldest insurer, was founded in the late 1950s and had the market to itself until the government opened it up to private competition in 2000. It is still India's largest insurer, with a sales agent in practically every neighbourhood across the 1.4 billion-person country.
For the first time, the corporation has retained a distinct quota for policyholders, who will receive a 10% reserved allocation and a discount when purchasing LIC shares.
To apply for the LIC IPO, investors and LIC policyholders must have a demat account. To book the issue, they can utilise several brokerage applications such as Groww, Upstox, and Zerodha, or they can use the platform of any other depository participant (DP).
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