10 Feb , 2022 By : Kanchan Joshi
MUMBAI : Ahead of its proposed mega public offer, insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corp. of India Ltd (LIC) continued its shopping spree on Dalal Street in the December quarter.
The state-owned company’s holdings in listed companies touched a new high of Rs9.58 trillion as of 31 December, up 1.7% from a quarter ago. This was despite a 1.5% contraction in front-line share indices, the first quarterly decline since the meltdown in March 2020. The last time LIC’s shareholding gained value despite a big quarterly decline in benchmark indices was in the December quarter of 2016.
The analysis covered 321 BSE- and National Stock Exchange (NSE)-listed companies. Its ownership in the companies, by value, increased to 5.24% from 5.17% as of 30 September 2021. Shareholding by the number of shares increased from 6.59% to 6.63%, the highest since 2019-end.
The holding of the largest insurer in India in the companies is well diversified across sectors as it prepares for the initial public offering (IPO), data showed.
LIC remained invested in most sectors in October-December and trimmed its stakes in only a few segments such as infrastructure and engineering, auto and ancillaries, and capital goods over the last two quarters.
LIC commands a 64% market share in gross written premium and is looking to file its draft papers with the market regulator this week. It is likely to offer a 5% discount to its policyholders in the upcoming share sale.
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