New Delhi, 8/9: The Indian government is considering allowing foreign institutional investors to buy up to a total of 20 per cent in state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), a government source said on Wednesday, as it presses ahead with a stake sale.
The listing of LIC is set to be India’s biggest ever initial public offering (IPO), with the government aiming to raise up to Rs 90,000 crore ($12.2 billion) from its stake sale.
At present, even though foreign institutional investors are allowed to hold up to 74 per cent of private insurance companies and up to 20 per cent of state-owned banks, they are not permitted to own shares in LIC.