India's biggest initial public offering of the state-run insurance behemoth -- the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) -- is all set to open next week, with the government deciding to sell 3.5% of its stake in the company.
For anchor investors, the initial public offering will open on May 2. For retail investors, it will open on May 4 and close on May 9. The price band for the offering has been set at Indian rupees 902 to 949, UNB has learnt.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the country's stock markets regulator, approved the red herring prospectus on April 25. LIC has time and again bailed out the government by acting as its internal financier.
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Experts predict a stellar debut for LIC on the country's bourses just like that of private food delivery giant Zomato last year. The food aggregator was, in fact, India's first new-age technology unicorn to go public in 2021.
Zomato, in fact, rode on the Covid outbreak that has prompted a trend of people moving to order food items online the world over. Such was the fantabulous listing that Zomato's market capitalization breached 12 billion US dollar mark in the first hour itself.