INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
LIC's employees union pressures against the government's IPO planThe Life Insurance Corporation's employees union has decided to step
up pressure against the government's Initial Public Offering (IPO) Plan, a day after the finance minister indicated the centre has an open
mind on the timing of the IPO launch because of the escalation in the Ukraine crisis.After sounding upbeat last week on LIC's prospects
despite the deteriorating market condition, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media on Tuesday the government was open to
reviewing the IPO plans due to prevailing market conditions."I wouldn't mind looking at it again," Ms Sitharaman said in an interview with
Business Line newspaper, referring to the timing of the LIC offering
"Now, there is a full-scale war
Therefore, I need to go back and review the situation."Meanwhile, the All India Insurance Employees Association has decided today that LIC
employees will hold sit-in protests on March 5, 2022, across all divisional headquarters of LIC in the county against the government's
decision to bring an IPO.That comes a day after an exclusive report by Reuters, which showed bankers advising LIC on its IPO had pushed the
government to defer the launch of the stock offering in the wake of the market jolt caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine according to
two sources familiar with the talks.In India's most prominent stock offering, the government has plans to raise about $8 billion by
selling 5 per cent of LIC's stake this month before the fiscal year ends on March 31
The offering is also critical as it will help New Delhi raise funds for budgeted spending.A selloff in global markets following Russia's
invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions has made companies cautious about IPOs, with some putting their plans on hold
the LIC IPO is delayed, it will add to the growing list of planned offerings being put on hold as the war dampens investor appetite for
raised concerns in a recent closed-door meeting to delay the IPO by saying market conditions were no more conducive due to volatility caused
by Russia-Ukraine tensions, according to the Reuters report.The bankers have told the Indian government that launching LIC's stock
offering would make sense in the coming months when investors are more confident, told one of the bankers directly involved in the
negotiations to Reuters."We have communicated our concerns..
it is likely that a decision on (revised) IPO timing can come by this week," the banker told Reuters.Foreign investors have been busy
re-working their portfolios given the market turmoil and have had no time to evaluate the LIC prospectus; the second banking source told
