LIC IPO to reserve 10% shares for policyholders

New Delhi, Feb. 9: Up to 10 per cent of the LIC IPO issue size would be reserved for policyholders, mnister of sate for fnance Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday.

The government will remain the majority shareholder and will continue to retain management control,safeguarding the interest of policyholders, he said.

"In the Finance Bill 2021-22, it has been proposed to have a reservation on a competitive basis, to an extent of up to 10 per cent of the issue size, in favour of life insurance policyholders of LIC," Thakur said in a written reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha.

In her Budget Speech 2021, finance minister

Nirmala Sitharaman said the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) would be launched in the next financial year, beginning April 1.

The LIC Amendment Act has been made part of the Finance Bill, thereby bringing the required legislative amendment for launching IPO of the country's largest life insurer.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam), which manages the government's equity in state-owned companies, has already selected actuarial firm Milliman Advisors for ascertaining the embedded value of LIC.

Deloitte and SBI Caps have been appointed as pre-IPO transaction advisors.

The Budget 2021-22 has set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore, higher than the Rs 32,000 crore estimated to be garnered in the current fiscal. Of the Rs 1.75 lakh crore, Rs 1 lakh crore is to come from selling government stake in public sector banks and financial institutions, and Rs 75,000 crore would come as CPSE disinvestment receipts.

Melbourne, Feb. 9: Rafael Nadal’s injured back didn’t slow his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title on Tuesday, as women’s world number one Ashleigh Barty romped to a 6-0, 6-0 ‘double bagel’ at the Australian Open.

On a day when women’s champion Sofia Kenin also reached round two, but two-time winner Victoria Azarenka lost after breathing problems, Nadal and Barty were the headline acts at the coronavirusdelayed Slam.

Spanish great Nadal, who pulled out of last week’s ATP Cup with back problems, beat Serbia’s Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 52 minutes on a sun-kissed Rod Laver Arena.

“It’s been a tough 15 days for me,” said the 2009 champion, whose back stiffness first flared during an exhibition match last month.

“I needed to survive today and that’s what I did. I’m happy to be through and I think I did a good job today. Straight sets is what I needed.”

After world number one Novak Djokovic eased through late on Monday, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev extended his winning streak to 15 matches with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Canada’s Vasek Pospisil.

Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev also continued his winning start to the year with a straightsets victory over German Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

And Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas made short work of French veteran Gilles Simon, winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in 92 minutes.

ASHLEIGH’S PARTY ON

Barty also outclassed Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic, losing only 10 points as she raced into round two in just 44 minutes.

With the win Barty, last year’s semi-finalist who sat out most of the 2020 season, ramped up hopes of a first Australian women’s winner in 43 years.

Women’s champion Kenin was less convincing and she audibly vented her frustrations during her 7-5, 6-4 win against Australian Maddison Inglis, who is ranked outside the top 100.

Two-time major-winner Garbine Muguruza, who was stunned by Kenin in last year’s final, had little trouble beating Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan 6-4, 6-0.