Budget 2021: Govt to amend LIC Act, paves way for India’s largest IPO
1 min read 02 Feb 2021, 12:54 AM ISTFM Nirmala Sitharaman said the Union government will hold at least 75% in LIC for the first five years post the IPO, and subsequently, at least 51% in the insurer at all times
PremiumMUMBAI : The government on Monday paved the way for the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of state-run Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) next fiscal in what would be the country’s largest public issue so far.
While announcing the budget for fiscal 2022, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to amend the LIC Act and bring the rules for LIC under the Companies Act to ensure that the insurer does not face regulatory hurdles while launching its share sale.
LIC, in which the government holds a 95% stake, is the country’s largest insurer with total assets of more than ₹34 trillion. The insurer is currently in the midst of evaluating its total business through actuarial firms.
The finance minister said the Union government will hold at least 75% in LIC for the first five years post the IPO, and subsequently, at least 51% in the insurer at all times.
For this fiscal year, LIC recorded a new business premium of ₹1.3 trillion during April-December 2020, more than double of the total premium collected by all private life insurers together.
A public listing of LIC has been a protracted affair as it requires amending the LIC Act. The insurer needs to change its audit and accounting policies; the way it distributes surpluses; as well as amendments to Sections 24, 28 and 37 of the Act.
Section 24 deals with the way the corporation handles its corpus, Section 28 is about dividend distribution norms and Section 37 provides government guarantee on all its policies.
“LIC currently pays 5% of its surplus to the government, while the remaining 95% goes to its policyholders. That needs to be re-looked when the corporation gets listed and there is an external investor," a person familiar with the matter said.
In comparison, private insurers pay 10% of their surplus to shareholders and the rest to policyholders.
Section 24 explains how “the corporation shall have its own fund and all receipts of the corporation shall be credited thereto and all payments of the corporation shall be made therefrom".
LIC’s equity capital stands at ₹100 crore, which has to be expanded to sell even a 10% stake. Presenting the budget, the finance minister proposed to increase the authorized share capital of LIC to ₹25,000 crore, divided into 25 billion shares of ₹10 each.
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