Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the pre-IPO work of LIC is going on at four stages -- appointment of advisors for ensuring compliance, legislative amendment, LIC''s internal software changes to come out with its ''embedded value'' and appointing an actuary for vetting LIC's actuarial valuation.
The mega initial public offering
of Life Insurance Corp (LIC) may spill over to the next fiscal as the
government will first look at the independent actuarial valuation of the
country''s largest insurer, a top official has said.
Department of Investment and
Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the pre-IPO
work of LIC is going on at four stages -- appointment of advisors for ensuring
compliance, legislative amendment, LIC''s internal software changes to come out
with its ''embedded value'' and appointing an actuary for vetting LIC's
actuarial valuation.
The government plans to amend the
Act under which the state-run LIC was set up to prepare for the sale.
A stake sale in LIC is crucial
for meeting a record Rs 2.1 lakh crore disinvestment target set for the current
fiscal ending March 31, 2021.
Pandey said only after the four
stages converge, then a decision would be taken on the quantum of government
stake to be diluted in LIC.
"Then the IPO decision would
be there, what percentage of IPO we will go forward. Only after these four
things converge... we are trying our best to do this fiscal. But this IPO is a
big issue and I think it will take time," Pandey said when asked if the
offering would happen this fiscal.
Talking to PTI, Pandey said
Deloitte and SBI Caps have been appointee pre-IPO advisors who have been
working with LIC to list out the items of compliance.
The second part is a legislative
amendment that the Department of Financial Services (DFS) is working along with
DIPAM, he said.
This amendment would facilitate
the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC, by making changes in the LIC Act.
"Third, is the issue of
internal changes in LIC like software changes to come out with embedded value.
LIC has been doing old-style actuarial valuation. But for IPO they need to do
embedded value," he said.
He said DIPAM would come out with
an RFP to appoint an actuarial firm that will independently verify the
actuarial value produced by LIC.
"LIC also has to do the
valuation of its real estate assets," Pandey added.
In the 2020-21 Budget, Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced government''s plan to sell a part of
its holding in LIC by way of IPO.
"Listing of companies on
stock exchanges disciplines the company and provides access to financial
markets and unlocks its value. It also gives an opportunity for retail
investors to participate in the wealth so created," she had said.
The government has budgeted to
collect Rs 2.10 lakh crore from stake sale. This include Rs 1.20 lakh crore
from CPSE disinvestment and Rs 90,000 crore from selling stake in financial
institutions.

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