Govt eyes $1.7 bn from GIC Re’s IPO

MUMBAI: State-run reinsurer General Insurance Corp of India’s (GIC Re) initial public offering of shares next week seeks to raise as much ₹11,370 crore ($1.7 billion) in what will be India’s second-biggest IPO.

GIC Re set a price range of ₹855-912 a share for its IPO that will run from October 11-13, according to a public notice on Wednesday. At the upper end of the price range, the IPO would raise ₹11,370 crore ($1.7 billion).

With almost $6 billion worth of IPO sales in the first three quarters of 2017, India is set for a record year aided by strong stock markets and higher fund flows into equity from institutions as well as retail investors. High valuations of share sales have however concerned some investors.

In the GIC Re IPO, the Indian government, which fully owns the reinsurer, will sell 107.5 million shares, while the company will raise funds by selling 17.2 million new shares. The total offer of 124.7 million shares constitutes 14.2% of the post-offer paid up share capital.

Citi, Axis Capital, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Kotak are the banks managing the GIC Re IPO, which is the biggest since Coal India’s 2010 share sale that raised ₹15,200 crore.

To help bring the fiscal deficit meet a target of 3.2% of GDP during the year to March 2018, the government aims to raise ₹72,500 crore by divesting some of its stakes in state-run companies and private firms in which it holds minority stakes.