NEW DELHI : The government is looking to launch the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corp. of India Ltd (LIC) towards the end of April rather than May, according to senior officials aware of the matter.

The government is of the view that the market volatility has reduced, indicating more stability in the markets, and the Indian insurance market has been isolated from global factors such as rising oil prices, escalating raw material prices, and the Russia-Ukraine war, according to one of the officials mentioned above. “There is a concern of overseas investors, but there may never be a perfect time. Today, it’s the markets. Sometime later, may be, another covid wave. Something or the other will be happening, so we can’t keep on delaying," the official said.

The final decision will be taken in some time, but the government is of the view that the IPO should be launched sooner rather than later, he said.

Queries to the finance ministry spokesperson did not elicit a response as of press time on Wednesday.

Mint reported on Wednesday that the government was considering an increase in the stake it plans to sell through an IPO of LIC from 5% to a maximum of 7.5%, but may decide to sell only between 5.5% and 6.5%, depending on the investor interest.

Discussions on increasing the IPO size to more than 5% have begun after evaluating the situation arising from the Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on the stock markets.

A final call will be taken based on the interest shown by pension funds, sovereign funds, and other investors and the anchor book prepared by the merchant bankers, Mint had reported.

Selling more shares in the IPO will result in a windfall for the government. Mint had reported earlier that the government was looking at raising as much as Rs75,000 crore by selling a 5% stake in the country’s largest insurer.

The success of LIC’s IPO is crucial for the government to meet its asset sales goal, which has been kept at a conservative Rs65,000 crore for the current fiscal, lower than the revised Rs78,000 crore for the previous fiscal. However, the government could meet less than 17% of the revised target as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the ensuing volatility in stock markets forced it to postpone the share sale to this fiscal year.

Delaying the IPO beyond 12 May will, however, mean that the government will have to include December quarter financials for LIC and refile the prospectus, which will delay the IPO by two to three months, a situation that it wants to avoid.

There is strong investor interest in the state-run company’s offer, but the Centre will proceed with the IPO only when it is confident of successfully listing the insurer, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the secretary for the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam), said last month at the Mint India Investment Summit 2022.

Dipam has been holding roadshows with sovereign wealth funds, alternative investment funds, pension funds, mutual funds, and new investors across markets, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Japan, showing interest, Mint had reported earlier.

However, the exclusion of several Russian banks and entities from the Swift payments system because of sanctions has become a major concern for investors. Indian fund managers were also against the IPO being launched in March.

The IPO will be the largest in India, with millions of retail investors expected to invest, a third official said. So, if the post-listing share price faces a lot of volatility because of the geopolitical situation, it may lead to retail investors being disappointed, the person said. The Centre would want to avoid such a situation.