LIC shares surpass issue price mark for the first time, stock soars 4%

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) crossed its issue price mark for the first time on January 30 after the central bank permitted the company to increase its stake in HDFC Bank.

The issue price for LIC was between Rs 902-Rs 949 per share. The initial public offering was launched in May 2022 and was listed at a discount to the issue price at Rs 867 on the National Stock Exchange.

Following its listing, LIC shares saw a downward trend, witnessing a decline of 26 percent from the listing until November of the previous year. However, a noteworthy reversal occurred post-November, with LIC shares exhibiting a remarkable gain of 55 percent in just two months.

HDFC Bank mentioned that the central bank gave permission to LIC to acquire a 9.99 percent stake in the bank within a period of one year, by January 24, 2025. At of Q3FY24, LIC held 34 crore HDFC Bank shares, representing a 5.19 percent stake in the bank. With the central bank’s approval. LIC can acquire an additional 4.8 percent stake in HDFC Bank.

Also read LIC’s proposed stake buyout in HDFC Bank ‘well-timed’, has limited downside

Market experts believe that LIC’s proposed additional stake buyout of 4.8 percent comes at a time when the lender’s stock valuation turned attractive post its steep fall.

LIC’s net profit fell 50 percent year-on-year to Rs 7,925 crore in Q2FY24.  It had reported a net profit of Rs 15,952 crore in the year-ago period. The fall in profit numbers were because it changed its accounting policy in September 2022 regarding transfer of amount (Net of Tax) due to which YoY profit figures were not comparable.

LIC shares were trading 2.89 percent up at Rs 942.05 at 13.45 pm on the National Stock Exchange.

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