Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) declared disappointing results in Q1FY24. While it reported a net profit of Rs 9,540 crore in Q1FY24, this was attributable to the transfer of Rs 7,490 crore from non-participating (non-par) products to shareholders' accounts due to the accretion on available solvency margin. In operational terms, annualised premium equivalent (APE) declined and value of new business (VNB) margin was flat. But the medium-term prospects may be better.
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The data for individual weighted received premium (WRP) showed divergent trends for life insurers in December 2024. Overall, the industry's individual WRP grew 4.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y); LIC's individual WRP declined 13 per cent while private players saw 11.4 per cent growth.
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Domestic capital market will see the launch of India's largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) next week. Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC's) landmark Rs 21,000-crore IPO will open for subscription on Wednesday. Here's a look at some unique features of this mega offering, which are not typically seen in other IPOs.
Contrary to expectations, the new business premium (NBP) of life insurance companies dropped 12.62 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in March 2023 due to an over 30 per cent drop in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India's premiums, albeit on a high base. Data released by the Life Insurance Council shows the industry racked up NBP of Rs 52,081 crore in March 2023, compared with Rs 59,608.83 crore in the year-ago period. NBP is the premium acquired from new policies in a year. It is the sum of the first-year premium and single premium, reflecting the total premium received from new businesses.
The Life Insurance Corporation of India has the wherewithal to acquire a composite license, a top source aware of the development told Business Standard, adding that the insurance behemoth may look into entering the health and general insurance segments. "LIC has the scale, capacity, IT infrastructure, and the distribution reach to take advantage of the composite license. "LIC is looking at organic as well as inorganic growth opportunities.
Confirming a meeting with the top management of the Adani Group, Life Insurance Corporation Chairman M R Kumar said on Sunday that the interaction had gone well. "There's nothing I can state as of now on the outcome of that meeting. "But yeah, we've had the meeting....we are quite happy about this meeting," Kumar said on the sidelines of the 22nd Global Conference of Actuaries in New Delhi.
Shares of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India hit fresh record lows amid sustained decline in Adani Group stocks. Its stock finished at Rs 567.8, down 2.9 per cent over its previous close. The state-owned insurer's market value is now down Rs 2.4 trillion, or 40 per cent, compared to initial public offering levels.
Life insurance companies reported a 13.16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premium (NBP), totting up Rs 30,347 crore in October, even as the number of policies sold saw a sharp decline. The growth was largely driven by strong performance from private sector life insurers.
Amid volatility in stock markets generated by tension between Russia and the US over Ukraine, LIC chairman M R Kumar on Monday said that the insurance behemoth was watching the geo-political situation carefully, though it was keen on listing of the IPO in March. The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has already filed the DRHP with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering (IPO). "We are watching the situation closely and carefully...but we are very keen on having listing in March," Kumar said, when asked about the impact of the evolving geopolitical situation on the upcoming IPO.
RBI's interest rate decision, quarterly earnings and global cues would be the major driving factors for equity markets this week, analysts said adding that the impact of the Union Budget could linger on this week. Trading activity of foreign investors will also be a key driver for the markets, experts noted. "US and India's manufacturing PMI for January to be released on Monday, will be the key macro data to watch out for.
'The entire value of LIC is created by its shareholders because after the initial invest net of Rs 5 crores in 1956, the government has not given any additional capital to the LIC.' 'If the corporation has expanded and emerged as the biggest financial institution in the country, it is only because of the policyholders.'
The government is nudging LIC to tweak its product strategy to maximise profitability in a bid to help the country's largest insurer realise its full growth potential and yield better returns for investors, an official said. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has been trading below the issue price of Rs 949 a share ever since it got listed on stock exchanges on May 17. It listed at Rs 872 apiece on NSE. On Tuesday, the scrip settled at Rs 595.50, down 0.72 per cent over the previous close.
With the Russia-Ukraine war roiling financial markets globally, the government may defer the mega IPO of LIC and wait for an opportune time to get the maximum value of its holding in the state-owned insurance behemoth, sources said. "It's a full blown war now so we will have to assess the situation for going ahead with the LIC IPO," a government source said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, too, had indicated review of the IPO in view of the evolving geopolitical situation.
LIC's public offer, the country's biggest-ever IPO, was fully subscribed on the second day of bidding on Thursday. Against 16,20,78,067 shares on offer, 16,68,60,765 bids were received -- translating into a subscription of 1.03 times, as per data on stock exchanges as of 7 pm. However, the Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) and Non-Institutional Investor (NII) portions have received a tepid response so far.
Global investors have cited the ongoing war and high valuations of Indian equity markets as a reason to skip the IPO.
The government will launch the mega public offer of LIC by March and file draft papers with market regulator Sebi by the end of this month, an official said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last week reviewed the progress of the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in a meeting with top officials of the ministry. The official said the September 2021 quarter financials of LIC are getting finalised as well as fund bifurcation is in progress.
The initial public offering of the country's largest insurer LIC will open on May 4 and close on May 9, sources said. The IPO, through which the government will sell 3.5 per cent stake in state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), will fetch Rs 21,000 crore to the exchequer. The IPO values LIC at Rs 6 lakh crore.
DIIs owned equities worth Rs 73.5 trillion, just 1.9 per cent less than FPIs. This marks a significant change from a decade ago.
'We try to pick up stocks early and hold onto them for the long term.' 'We are not someone who buys and sells on a daily basis.'
Life insurers shifted their focus to selling high-value policies in October as the transition to new surrender value norms, effective October 1, limited their ability to roll out all products in their portfolio. This led to a 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) drop in the number of policies sold in October. Additionally, distributors engaged in a fire sale of policies in September due to uncertainty about the impact of the new norms on their commission structures.
'It will be a cat and mouse game between investors and the government.' 'The issue will be launched only if there is sufficient demand from investors and the government is in agreement with the bankers on the valuations.'
When Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India gets listed on the bourses next month, it will be among the biggest listed life insurers globally in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap), assets, and revenue, but will also be among the least profitable and capitalised among its peer group. A big gap between LIC's m-cap, profits, and networth (shareholder capital) will make it one of the priciest insurers globally, in terms of price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple and price-to-book value (P/B) ratio. LIC also lags behind its Indian listed peers in terms of profit and networth.
The country's largest insurer LIC on Tuesday listed its shares at a discount of 8.11 per cent at Rs 872 per share on the NSE. On the BSE, the shares got listed at Rs 867.20 apiece, down 8.62 per cent over the issue price of Rs 949 a share. LIC had fixed the issue price of its shares at Rs 949 apiece after a successful initial public offering, which fetched Rs 20,557 crore to the government.
India's largest insurer LIC is likely to list on the stock exchanges on May 17, a week after its bumper initial public offering (IPO) closes. The government is selling over 22.13 crore shares in LIC at a price band of Rs 902-949 a piece in the initial public offering, which opens on May 4 and closes on May 9. As per the final papers filed with Sebi, the allotment of shares to the demat account of bidders will happen by May 16, post which LIC would commence trading of equity shares in the stock exchanges and list "on or about May 17".
The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most valued firms surged Rs 1,21,270.83 crore last week, with Reliance Industries becoming the biggest gainer, in line with an outstanding rally in benchmark equity indices. Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,027.54 points or 1.21 per cent. The BSE Sensex hit its record high of 85,978.25 on Friday.
The government has amended rules of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), paving the way for up to 20 per cent foreign direct investment in the insurance behemoth LIC. The government is planning to dilute its stake in LIC through the the Initial Public Offering (IPO). LIC in February had filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) before the markets regulator Sebi for the IPO.
Life insurance companies reported a 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in new business premium (NBP) in February as state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India's premiums contracted 32 per cent during this period on account of a drop in its group single premium segment. According to data released by the Life Insurance Council, the industry earned an NBP of Rs 22,847.65 crore in February - a drop of 17 per cent from the same period a year ago.
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Ever since the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) announced launching the initial public offering (IPO), 6.48 crore LIC policyholders have shown interest to get the much-touted share of the largest insurance company in the country, an official said. "The response to our IPO launch is wonderful. We have some figures: 6.48 crore policy holders have linked their PAN number with the policy details up to the cut-off date (February 28, 2022)," Rahul Jain, director of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in the Ministry of Finance, told reporters. The LIC has set a price band of Rs 902-Rs 949 per equity share. The government intends to raise Rs 21,000 crore through the issue.
The government is mulling allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's largest insurer LIC, a move which would help overseas investors take part in the company's proposed mega IPO, sources said. The proposal is under discussion between the Department of Financial Services and Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). "Discussions have been going on for the proposal for the last few weeks. "It would also go for inter-ministerial discussions and would also require Cabinet nod," a source said.
Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC), which is aiming to launch its initial public offering (IPO) next month, is set to alter the pecking order of top listed companies in the country. Depending upon where the government prices the IPO, the stock could end up becoming India's most valuable company on the first day and even get fast-tracked into global benchmark indices given its sheer size. According to market sources, LIC's IPO is targeting to mop up Rs 63,000 crore and Rs 75,000 crore.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Monday said it has an exposure of Rs 36,474.78 crore to Adani group's debt and equity, and the amount is less than one per cent of the national insurer's total investments.
LIC's public offer, the country's biggest-ever IPO, saw the policyholders' portion being oversubscribed on the first day itself on Wednesday, though overall subscription stood at just 66 per cent. The government aims to generate about Rs 21,000 crore by selling 3.5 per cent stake in the insurance behemoth. The LIC initial public offering (IPO), open for retail and institutional investors, is set to close on May 9. The issue period also includes bidding on Saturday, May 7.
LIC public offer will remain open for subscription even on weekend to enable people to participate in the mega IPO of the state-owned insurer. This is perhaps for the first time the special dispensation is granted to any public offer. The issue period also includes bidding on Saturday, May 7, 2022 and Sunday, May 8, 2022, LIC informed exchanges. Earlier bidding was allowed on May 7 (Saturday) only.
LIC's public offer, the country's biggest-ever IPO, witnessed full subscription of the retail portion on day three on Friday. The overall issue was subscribed 1.38 times, according to data posted on stock exchanges on 7 pm. Against 16,20,78,067 shares on offer, 22,36,98,915 bids were received. However, the Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) and Non-Institutional Investor (NII) portions are yet to be fully subscribed.
The government has appointed 10 merchant bankers including Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India to manage the mega initial public offering of country's largest insurer LIC. Other selected bankers include SBI Capital Market, JM Financial, Axis Capital, BofA Securities, JP Morgan India, ICICI Securities, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Co Ltd, a circular on the divestment department website said. "Government has finalised the book running lead managers and some other advisors for the IPO of LIC," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted. The divestment department had invited applications for the appointment of merchant bankers on July 15.
LIC identifies the problems well, but what the markets will watch is how nimble it is with the solutions.
The first quarter of calendar 2023 will see new faces heading four large public-sector banks -- Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Bank of India.
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