Value of shares invested by LIC rises from ₹3 lakh crore to ₹13 lakh crore in 10 years

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which is known for taking advantage of every swing in the market, has cut down its holdings to an all-time low of 3.64% in the December quarter. Yet, the value of shares held by the insurer rose to a record high of ₹ 13 lakh crore. Thanks to the unprecedented rally in stocks across the board.

The increase in invested value turns out to be a four-fold jump over the last ten years, despite cutting down the number of companies in which it has at least 1% holding. The benchmark Nifty returned 245% during the same period.

According to data sourced from primeinfobase.com, LIC had invested in as many as 318 companies as of December 2013, which has come down to 277 in December 2023. The average holding of LIC in the Indian equity market for the last ten years stood at 4.2%.

Not surprisingly, the largest company, Reliance Industries, contributed the most to LIC’s holding. LIC owns 6.2% of Reliance Industries, which alone is valued at ₹1.2 lakh crore. However, in percentage terms, LIC’s highest holdings among the largest corporations include ITC, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and among others.

Source: Bloomberg

On Thursday, the market capitalisation of the largest public sector unit—LIC—hit a record high of ₹7 lakh crore. Shares of LIC have rallied by as much as 80% over the last three months, helping the insurer improve its position in the market cap league table. LIC is now the most valuable public sector unit and the fifth-largest listed firm in the country. The market valuation of LIC is now only behind Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

Pranav Haldea, Managing Director, PRIME Database Group, attributed the drop in LIC’s holdings to profit booking. Insurance companies together sold a net of ₹15,622 crore worth of shares in the December quarter. “A major portion of selling can be attributable to LIC as it commands a lion’s share of investments in equities by insurance companies,” added Haldea.