With a $17 billion wipeout in market value, Life Insurance Corporation of India – the country’s biggest insurance company – has become one of the biggest wealth destroyers among Asia’s IPOs in 2022, Bloomberg reported.
The stocks of the government-run company, which came out with a Rs 21,000 crore IPO recently, crashed by 5.85 percent to Rs 668.20 per share for the tenth consecutive day on Monday, 13 June.
This is a 29.58 percent plunge from the IPO offer price of Rs 949 in May.
Amid rising interest rates and inflation levels which are affecting the demand for share sales, LIC has seen its market capitalisation fall to Rs 4.22 lakh crore from Rs 5.54 lakh crore on listing.
According to the report, government officials have said the company’s management will “look into all these aspects and will raise shareholders’ value.”
LIC was touted to be India’s “Aramco moment” in reference to Gulf oil giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co.’s $29.4 billion listing in 2019.
By selling a 3.5% stake in LIC, the Centre was expecting to raise Rs 21,000 crore in a bid to replenish the public coffers that have been drained out by the pandemic.
(With inputs from Bloomberg.)
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