Analysts Predict That India's Life Insurance Corp Will Have A Lackluster Market Launch

Analysts predict that Life Insurance Corp will have a lackluster debut on Indian stock exchanges on Tuesday, despite the oversubscription of its $2.7 billion initial public offering.

Last Monday, India priced LIC's record-breaking IPO at the top of the stated range, 949 Indian rupees ($12.20). The government has raised approximately $2.7 billion by selling a 3.5% stake in LIC, the country's largest state-owned insurance.

However, uncertainty in global markets and selling pressure on the domestic stock market are anticipated to cast a shadow over LIC's listing, and the shares are likely to begin trading at a little discount or near the IPO price.

"Unofficial gray premium is trading in negative territory, primarily as a result of gloomy global markets. We anticipate a soft listing at +/- 5% of the offering price, "Prashanth Tapse, research analyst at domestic brokerage Mehta Equities, said on the price.

New Delhi had planned to list LIC in March of this year, but was forced to postpone the listing due to unfavorable market conditions in the wake of the Ukraine conflict.

The offering is considered essential for India to accomplish its lofty goal of selling off state assets. The debut result will also set the tone for future issues after India's recent major IPOs badly burned regular investors.

The per-share price range for the offering was established between 902 and 949 rupees. Employees and retail investors received a discount of 45 rupees per share, while policyholders received a discount of 60 rupees per share.

LIC shares were trading at a discount of roughly 15 rupees on the gray market, compared to a premium of nearly 100 rupees earlier this month.

"Even if the shares list flat on Tuesday, ordinary investors would still be able to make money because of the discount," said Narendra Solanki, head of fundamental analysis at domestic brokerage Anand Rathi.

With over 280 million policies, the 66-year-old firm leads India's insurance industry.

IPO MARKET DECREASE

The Indian IPO market, which had exponential growth in 2021, has experienced a dramatic decline this year. EY reported on Monday that this demonstrates the impact of geopolitical tensions, stock market volatility, a price correction in overvalued stocks from recent IPOs, concerns about rising commodity and energy prices, and slower economic development.

EY said that in the first quarter of 2022, India's primary markets raised $995 million through the three largest IPOs, compared to $2.57 billion during the same period the previous year.

Sandip Khetan, Partner and Financial Accounting Advisory Services Leader at EY India, stated that if market conditions improve, there may be a solid pipeline of IPOs this year, as more than 20 businesses had filed draft prospectuses in the first quarter.