LIC IPO: Foreign Investors Step Up Bids In Last Minute Before Closing Of Subscription

Since the launch of the LIC IPO, the FIIs were bit apprehensive mostly because of volatile stock markets and currency risks

The credit of LIC shares to demat account of bidders will be done on May 16 once shares get allotted. Image: Getty

Source : Getty

New Delhi: In the last few hours of the subscription on Monday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) stepped up their bids before closing for the mega initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

Since the launch of the LIC IPO, the FIIs were bit apprehensive mostly because of volatile stock markets and currency risks.

According to a report by news agency Bloomberg, overseas investors put in orders for 61 per cent of the shares set aside for institutional buyers in the Rs 21,000-crore IPO. The portion was oversubscribed about three times by the end of the bidding.

The LIC issue opened on May 4 and received bids through the weekend.

On the other hand, the IPO’s anchor portion also drew in sovereign funds from Norway and Singapore. However, most of the shares still went to domestic mutual funds.

Secretary at the divestment department in the finance ministry, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, “This shows that the capacity of our domestic investors and markets has gone up considerably.” In a news meet, Pandey said, “We can run our capital markets without being dependent on foreigners, though they are also welcome.”

With the bid closed now, the final allotment of shares is expected to take place on Thursday (May 12), according to the information given in the red herring prospectus (RHP).

The credit of shares to demat account of bidders will be done on May 16 once shares get allotted. The shares of the company will be listed on the BSE and NSE on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

The LIC IPO, which was dubbed India’s ‘Aramco moment’ in reference to Saudi Arabian Oil Co.'s $29.4 billion listing in 2019 -- the world's largest -- the float of LIC has some resemblances, not just in scale but also in its reliance on domestic investors.