LIC shares crash by 5.85%, down 30% from IPO issue price

The share price of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) crashed by around 6 per cent on Monday as the end of the lock-in period for anchor investors intensified selling. The government-run LIC closed 5.85 per cent down at Rs 668.20 at the BSE. The scrip hit a low of Rs 666.90 in the intra-day.

At Monday`s close, LIC`s share is 29.59 per cent down from its IPO issue price of Rs 949.LIC has closed in the red for the 10 straight trading sessions. It has lost around 20 per cent during this period. Since its listing at the stock exchanges on May 17, the scrip has closed in the positive only for four sessions. For the rest of the days, it witnessed selling pressure.

The initial public offering of LIC, which was open for subscription from May 4 to May 9, was subscribed 2.95 times. LIC shares were allotted to investors at Rs 949 apiece. Policyholders, employees and retail investors were offered discounts.

Policyholders received allotment at Rs 889 per share whereas employees and retail investors got the shares at Rs 905 apiece. India`s biggest-ever IPO has turned into the biggest wealth destroyer.

At the issue price of Rs 949 the market capitalisation of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India stood at Rs 6,00,242 crore. This has crashed by around 30 per cent in less than a month.

The government-run LIC is by far the largest insurer in India. The market share of LIC in individual policies was 74.60 per cent for the financial year ended March 31, 2022. In the Group business the market share of LIC during the year ended March 31, 2022, was 89.07 per cent by number of policies/schemes and 76.16 per cent by first-year premium.

The market share of LIC as at the end of 31st March 2022 was 63.25 per cent in composite First Year Premium income.