The listing of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) between Corona Kahar and the sale of government stake in IDBI Bank may be delayed. This process can now go beyond March, 2021. The government may take this step due to the decrease in valuation due to the Kovid-19 epidemic. The government has set a target of raising Rs 90,000 crore by selling LIC's listing and stake in IDBI Bank. It is noteworthy that the government has set a target of raising Rs 2.10 lakh crore through disinvestment in the current financial year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the budget for the financial year 2020-21, had announced the sale of stake in LIC through IPO in the current financial year.
Apart from this, sources have said that given the current market situation, the sale of stake in LIC in the current financial year seems difficult as the situation is not looking favorable. He said that in the current market conditions, there is little hope of showing much interest by investors regarding the mega issue of LIC. At the same time, due to the circumstances related to Kovid-19, the government recently extended the deadline to tender for the privatization of BPCL, the country's second largest oil marketing company, for the second time, to 31 July 2020.
Regarding the matter, the sources said that even if the market conditions are better, the government will have to reduce the estimated income from the sale of stake in LIC and IDBI Bank. In such a situation, selling the stake with low valuation will not be a fair decision. Also, he said that along with the valuation, many types of regulatory approvals are also required for listing of LIC and amendment of LIC Act is the most important in this regard.