LIC shares at 52-week high after shareholding exemptions but remains below IPO price

Shares of LIC jumped as much as 7% in early trading on Friday after India's largest insurer received a one-time exemption from the Department of Economic Affairs to achieve a Minimum Public Shareholding of 25%.

LIC can now achieve the 25% Minimum Public Shareholding by May 2032, which will mark a decade since the stock was listed.

The government had sold 3.5% equity in the LIC IPO and continues to hold the remaining 96.5% stake.

LIC made its stock market debut in May 2022. Its Initial Public Offer (IPO) still stands as the country's largest in terms of size at over ₹21,000 crore.

In a recent interaction with CNBC-TV18, disinvestment secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that an FPO (Follow-On Public Offer) for LIC is not on the cards.

Shares of LIC have jumped 35% over the last month, of which over 20% have come in December itself. December has turned out to be the best month for LIC on record since it became a public company in May last year.

In July 2021, ahead of LIC's IPO, the government notified that all listed public sector units would be exempted from minimum public shareholding rules. According to the rule, companies are required to have a public shareholding of at least 25% within three years of being listed

Shares of LIC are trading 6.6% higher at ₹815. The stock is still 15% below its IPO price of ₹949.