Disappointing debut

LIC's discounted valuation didn't help

The listing of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), after its mega-initial public offering (IPO), indicates weak market sentiment. The issue was oversubscribed at Rs 949 (ignoring discounts to policyholders and employees), which was the top end of the price band. The government raised Rs 20,516 crore from the issue. But the share closed out its first trading session at Rs 873, a discount of 8 per cent to the issue price. The IPO has been plagued by consistent bad luck. The combination of the Ukraine war and tighter monetary policy to counter inflation led to the paring of the plan