Assuming that the value of LIC's holding has risen in line with the markets, its portfolio size today could be around $86 billion, higher than the previous record of $84 billion in March 2018.
The amount of money lying unclaimed with the Life Insurance Corporation of India dwarfs the budgets of many ministries. There was Rs 21,539.5 crore which lay unclaimed with India's largest insurance company, according to details in the initial public offer (IPO) document it filed over the weekend. The regulatory documentation is ahead of LIC selling shares to the public through the stock exchange for the first time this financial year. This will be India's largest ever public listing.
Insurance companies reported nearly 23 per cent growth in first year premium in the first quarter of financial year 2024-25, when compared to the same period last year, with market leader LIC leading the charge with 28 per cent growth. According to the data released by the Life Insurance Council, the new business premium (NBP) increased by 22.91 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ~89,726.7 crore in Q1FY25 from ~73,004.87 crore in Q1 FY24, reflecting a robust demand for insurance policies in the country.
The initial public offer of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, got subscribed 2.37 times on the third day of the bidding on Thursday, helped by institutional buyers. This is the largest IPO in the country, surpassing LIC's initial share sale of Rs 21,000 crore. The Rs 27,870 crore initial share sale got bids for 23,63,26,937 shares against 9,97,69,810 shares on offer, translating into 2.37 times subscription, as per NSE data.
The country's largest insurer LIC is the fifth most valuable company in the country with a market capitalisation of about Rs 5.54 lakh crore. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) made a tepid stock market debut on Tuesday following a mega IPO which fetched Rs 20,557 crore to the exchequer. The shares listed on stock exchanges at over 8 per cent discount over its issue price of Rs 949 apiece.
The government has reached out to investors to apprise them about Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC's) growth and prospects as it prepares for the country's largest initial public offering (IPO). Preliminary presentations have been made to inform investors on how the organisation is being restructured ahead of the IPO, along with its financials, so that the IPO process can be hastened once its embedded value is derived. "A detailed presentation has been made to investors, giving them details on how LIC is positioned beyond what is known. "This includes how LIC is being restructured ahead of the IPO, and investors are keen to know that," said an official. In the Finance Bill, 2021, the government had proposed a slew of changes to the LIC Act, 1956.
The initial public offer of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, received an 18 per cent subscription on the first day of bidding on Tuesday. The Rs 27,870 crore initial share sale received bids for 1,77,89,457 shares against 9,97,69,810 shares on offer, as per NSE data. The IPO received over 9 lakh applications on the first day.
Shares reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB), including banks and mutual funds in the LIC's public offer were subscribed fully on Monday morning, taking the overall subscription of the issue to a little over 2 times. Against 3,95,31,236 reserved, 4,61,62,185 bids were received, reflecting a subscription of 1.17 times, according to data posted on stock exchanges at 12:12 pm. Non institutional investors' portion was subscribed 1.38 times.
The department of investment and public asset management is racing against time to launch the LIC IPO, which could become the largest-ever listing on the Indian bourses. This would lead to some delay in the strategic divestment of IDBI Bank.
Equity markets may witness a gradual up-move this week with some volatility as both election and earnings season are nearing their end, analysts said, adding that global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would hold significance in dictating investors' sentiment. Benchmark indices, which had a record-breaking rally last week, would also track global oil benchmark Brent crude and the rupee-dollar trend. The monthly derivatives expiry on Thursday may also fuel volatility in markets.
This year's tally is the second best ever after 2022 when 16 firms raised Rs 40,311 crore, led by LIC's biggest-ever IPO.
Private insurance firms say, over the past few years, they have been investing on digital technologies to reach semi urban and rural areas.
The total number of demat accounts in the country stood at 171.1 million as of August 31.
Just ahead of its mega FPO opening to public investors, Vodafone Idea (VIL) has announced closure of its anchor book allocation, raising about Rs 5,400 crore from marquee global as well as domestic investors, according to a statutory filing by the telco. This could be the third-largest anchor book after One 97 Communications and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). One 97 Communications and LIC had raised Rs 8,235 crore and Rs 5,627 crore in the anchor round, respectively.
The life insurance industry reported a 25.28 per cent decline in new business premium income in November 2023 to Rs 26,494.83 crore from Rs 34,588.8 crore recorded a year ago. The fall in group premium and change in taxation norms for policies with a higher ticket size dragged the premiums of the state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and private insurers, respectively. According to the data released by the Life Insurance Council, the premium of private insurers slipped 9.33 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 10,360.29 crore from Rs 11,426.73 crore as a result of a change in product mix due to the measures taken to counter the impact of tax imposed on the premiums of Rs 5 lakh.
The total benefits paid by private life insurance companies to policyholders rose by 5.98 per cent to Rs 1.57 trillion during 2022-23. This figure stood at Rs 1.49 trillion in the corresponding year-ago period. On the other hand, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) paid out 4 per cent fewer benefits at Rs 3.39 trillion from Rs 3.53 trillion in 2021-22.
Equity fundraising through initial public offerings (IPOs) rose 20 per cent during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). During the period, 76 Indian corporates raised Rs 61,915 crore through main board IPOs, compared to Rs 52,116 crore mobilised by 37 IPOs in 2022-23, as disclosed by PRIME Database. However, if one excludes the mega Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) IPO, which came out in 2022-23, IPO mobilisation increased by 58 per cent from last year.
The unclaimed funds within the life insurance sector are higher from policies sold by agents as against other channels like bancassurance or a digital platform, said analysts and officials from insurance companies. Unclaimed life insurance funds refer to the proceeds of insurance policies including death or survival benefits not claimed by the beneficiary or the policyholder. Bancassurance means selling an insurance product through banks.
According to data from company sources, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) still remains the benchmark when it comes to settling death claims. However, major private players are also fast catching up.
Equity fundraising through initial public offerings (IPOs) rose 20 per cent during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). During the period, 76 Indian corporates raised Rs 61,915 crore through main board IPOs, compared to Rs 52,116 crore mobilised by 37 IPOs in 2022-23, as disclosed by PRIME Database. However, if one excludes the mega Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) IPO, which came out in 2022-23, IPO mobilisation increased by 58 per cent from last year.
Private life insurers experienced reasonable growth in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24), and the October data is also encouraging. The individual weighted received premium (WRP) for private players grew by 19.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in October. However, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had slower growth, pulling the industry growth rate down to 13 per cent Y-o-Y.
'Those betting against PSUs will likely be punished in this upswing.'
Insurer likely to support Ratan Tata; reduction in stake might have been profit booking.
The government hopes to use this data to assess the extent of financial support needed to recover from the pandemic.
In ITC, LIC has invested Rs 38,358.66 crore, according to Capitaline data.
Amid intense scrutiny from short-sellers and regulators, Adani group stocks have seen a significant shift in their shareholder base: Relatively opaque foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have given way to more recognisable investors and broad-based funds. The list of large public shareholders - those directly holding at least 1 per cent - is now dominated by entities, such as the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), US-based GQG Partners, Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company, and Qatar Investment Authority's INQ Holding.
Public-sector LIC for the first time witnessed its market share slipping below 80 per cent mark in November-end 2004 as competition intensified in the life insurance market with the entry of Sahara Life.
Life insurers in India registered a 22 per cent growth, collecting Rs 9,713 crore (Rs 97.13 billion) in premium income from new business till December, with private players gaining more ground from LIC.
Stock markets will be driven by quarterly earnings by index majors, global trends and the RBI's interest rate decision this week after digesting news on budget proposals and US Federal policy outcome, say analysts. The trading activity of foreign investors and the movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude would also dictate trends in equities. "On the domestic front, the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting is scheduled from February 6-8.
Mutual funds (MFs) are likely to surpass foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in terms of anchor investments in initial public offerings (IPOs) for the second consecutive year. In calendar year 2023 so far, MFs have invested Rs 5,577 crore as anchor investors, compared to the Rs 5,417 crore invested by FPIs this year. In 2022, MFs put in Rs 9,026 crore as anchor investment, 21 per cent higher than the FPI tally of Rs 7,105 crore. This marked the first time since 2014 that MFs had outpaced FPIs in anchor investments.
The ongoing weakness in the broader equity market is likely to weigh on primary market investor participation ahead, which has already begun showing signs of fatigue, analysts said. The spillover effect, they say, will continue as long as the midcap and smallcap segments remain volatile. "The effect will be felt in the IPO market. The subscription levels have come down in the last few days and recent 4-5 IPOs have not done well.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), one of the largest institutional investors in the Indian stock market, has become active on the bourses again. This is after a brief lull last month following the bribe-for-loan scam and questions around its stock market dealings.
The overall physical presence of life insurance companies in Tier-II and Tier-III cities increased in FY23 compared to a year ago period on account of the higher impetus given to financial inclusion by the government and insurance regulator, as well as recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest data released by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai). It is the first time that there has been growth in the number of offices since the financial year 2019-20.
Shedding its image of a brick-and-mortar organisation, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is all set venture into the digital era.
The strategic sale of government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India stakes in IDBI Bank might encounter procedural delays, potentially pushing the timeline for expected financial bids to the third quarter of the current financial year (2023-24, or FY24), according to sources familiar with the development. Financial bids constitute the second significant step in the divestment process, following expressions of interest (EoIs) from potential bidders. In this phase, bidders are required to quote transactional fee as a percentage of the divestment proceeds, which are then added to the government's kitty after completion of the transaction.
The 2019 list shows a 37 per cent jump in brand value for the Tata group, to $19.55 billion for 2019, the highest in the top 25.
The US Fed interest rate decision, domestic macroeconomic data announcements and ongoing quarterly earnings are some of the major factors that will drive the stock markets in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Besides, monthly auto sales numbers and the LIC IPO will also remain in focus, they added. Equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday for Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Id). "The market is likely to kick off this week on a sombre note after a sharp fall in the US market then the focus will shift to the outcome of the US FOMC meeting, which is crucial amid record inflation and growth worries.
Domestic mutual funds (MFs) have underpinned demand for most public floats this year, dominated by small- and mid-sized initial public offerings (IPOs). Of the 24 IPOs that have hit the market so far this financial year (2023-24, or FY24), MFs have played the role of 'anchor investors' in 20. They have subscribed to over 40 per cent, or Rs 2,850 crore, worth of shares of the Rs 6,900 crore on offer in the anchor category, according to data provided by PRIME Database, a firm that tracks primary market data.
The 2023 Budget set off a downtrend in the listed life insurance company stocks. The key reason was a proposal to tax income from insurance policies (other than unit-linked insurance plans or ULIPs) with a premium, or aggregate premium, of above Rs 500,000 per annum. This impacted the traditional savings profile since it affected the returns for these products.
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