Did the LIC IPO just get the Government Stamp of Approval

Has the LIC IPO just been given the final stamp of approval? If you go by news reports, it does look like the LIC IPO may have just got its stamp of approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). Now CCEA approval is the voice of the government and it just means that it is now over to the actual IPO process. LIC IPO promises to be the biggest IPO ever raising close to $8-10 billion. 

Read: LIC IPO coming soon?

As of now, only the advisors for the issue have been appointed and the actuaries are working towards an embedded valuation for LIC. Much of the regulatory changes to the LIC Act were already approved as part of the Finance Bill. That means, the next big step would be the appointment of investment bankers to start the IPO process in right earnest.

It is estimated that if all goes according to plan, the issue will happen around Feb or Mar 2022, because the government is apparently quite keen to list LIC before the end of the current fiscal year in Mar-22. The LIC IPO remains crucial to the government plans for resource raising as it has targeted an aggressive Rs.175,000 crore to be raised via disinvestments in FY22. If the government has to get anywhere close to that figure, it has to make a huge success of the LIC IPO. That process may have just about kicked off with the CCEA approval.

Also Check: List of upcoming IPOs in 2021