The corporation now has to achieve 10 per cent public shareholding on or before May 16, 2027
Mumbai:
The capital market regulator Sebi has allowed Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) three more years from now to comply with its minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms of 10 per cent, even as recently listed life insurance behemoth may be getting ready for another round of disinvestment immediately after a new government is in place.
The corporation now has to achieve 10 per cent public shareholding on or before May 16, 2027.
In May 2022,the government had raised Rs 20,557 crore by diluting its 3.5 per cent stake in the LIC through the initial public offering (IPO), the country’s biggest ever.
“Pursuant to Regulation 30 of Listing Regulations, this is to inform that Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) vide its letter dated May 14, 2024 has conveyed its decision, to grant additional time of 3 years to Life Insurance Corporation of India (“the Corporation”) to achieve 10 per cent public shareholding under Rule 19(2)(b)(iv) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, i.e., within a period of 5 years from the date of listing,” LIC said in a regulatory filing.
The government had already granted the insurer time till 2032 to comply with 25 per cent MPS norms.
After its recent disinvestment in 2022, the Indian government now owns 96.5 per cent stake in LIC.
In preparation of its forthcoming disinvestment, the corporation had held international roadshows last year. The corporation had these roadshows aimed at creating awareness among global investors of LIC shares.
Sebi rules mandate 25 per cent public float for all listed companies but newly-listed companies are granted a three-year window to fulfill the requirement.
The companies with a post-issue market capitalisation of more than Rs 1 lakh crore, the timeline to meet 25 per dent MPS rule is for five years.
With its equity investments valued over Rs 14 lakh crore at the end of the March quarter, LIC is the largest domestic institutional investor in the country.