Govt may review LIC IPO timing due to Russia-Ukraine conflict
Mar 02, 2022
New Delhi [India], March 2 : The government is likely to review the timing of the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) depending on the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the Indian equities markets, official sources said on Wednesday.
"Ideally, we would like to go ahead as per the plan, but if the Russia-Ukraine tensions continue to escalate, the timing would be reviewed," an official source in the Finance Ministry said.
The Finance Ministry will soon take a call on the timing of the LIC IPO in a meeting with the stakeholders.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week, Indian markets have faced volatility like other markets and government officials fear foreign and domestic investors may shy away from buying shares of the insurance company.
The review could impact the timing of the mega public offering, estimated to be India's largest, which made up the biggest portion of the country's asset-sale programme aimed at stanching the budget deficit for the year through March 31, 2022.
The government has earlier announced that the IPO of LIC would be completed in the current financial year.
