LIC gets 3 more years to meet minimum public shareholding norms

As of March 31, 2024, public shareholding in LIC stands at 3.5 percent.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been given three more years by markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India to achieve 10 percent public shareholding, the largest life insurer in the country said on May 15.

The revised timeline for LIC to achieve 10 percent public shareholding is on or before May 16, 2027, the company told the exchanges, almost two years after it went public.

Following the announcement, the LIC stock gained and was trading 3.3 percent higher at Rs 962.20 at 10.53 am.

As of March 31, 2023, public shareholding in the insurance behemoth was at 3.5 percent. The government still has to divest 6.5 percent over the next three years to achieve the 10 percent minimum shareholding.

The minimum public shareholding norms mandate at least 25 percent public float for all listed companies.

Also Read | LIC's April premium hits decade high of Rs 12,384 cr

The insurer went public in May 2022 when the government divested 3.5 percent stake through a Rs 21,000-crore issue, the largest IPO in the country. The company, however, had a forgettable start. It listed at Rs 867, 9 percent down from the upper price band of Rs 949, on May 17, 2022.

LIC shares remained in a downward trend, declining 26 percent from the listing price until November 2023 when the stock began to pick up.

The share crossed its issue price for the first time on January 30 after the Reserve Bank of India allowed it to increase its stake in HDFC Bank.

LIC on February 8 reported a 49 percent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 9,441 crore for the October-December quarter of the financial year 2023-24.