Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and ICICI Securities Ltd were among banks picked to work on Life Insurance Corp of India’s (LIC) initial public offering (IPO), in what is set to be the nation’s biggest listing.
Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, JM Financial Ltd, Citigroup Inc and Nomura Holdings Inc were also selected to work on the share sale that is slated for early next year, after 16 investment banks presented their pitches to the government, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public.
Banks would start engaging with investors from next month, with a potential listing expected between January and March next year, one of the people said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is pushing ahead with LIC’s IPO to help plug a widening budget gap. The government is expected to dilute as much as 10 percent of its stake in the country’s largest insurance company as part of a broader divestment target.
India might also allow foreign direct investment in LIC to ensure a diversified and strong demand across investors.
“The timeline looks tight given that almost half the year is gone,” said Karthik Srinivasan, senior vice-president at ratings assessor ICRA Ltd. “Several variables need to come together including a conducive external condition, regulatory changes to insurance laws, understanding LIC’s business.”
Still, “with the world awash with liquidity and only a few listed insurance companies in India, unlike banks where there are plenty of choices, we should see good demand for the IPO,” Srinivasan said.
The listing could value LIC at as much as US$261 billion, analysts at Jefferies India led by Prakhar Sharma wrote in a note in February.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
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