LICI

May 22 (Reuters) - Shares of India's Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS climbed as much as 4.85% on Friday after it reported a 23% rise in quarterly profit helped by strong group business growth and continued momentum from last year's tax cuts.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

((UrviManoj.Dugar@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9558725583;))

May 21 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• Q4 PAT 234.2 BILLION RUPEES

• Q4 NET PREMIUM INCOME 1.65 TRLN RUPEES

• DIVIDEND 10 RUPEES PER SHARE

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Katrina Hamlin

HONG KONG, May 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prudential PRU.L, 2378.HK has a punchy plan to shake up its life insurance business in India: it's buying a controlling stake in Bharti Life Insurance. Tapping its new partner's telco and asset management customers is a risky alternative to the tried-and-tested model of distributing products via a bank but could be an ingenious way to kickstart growth.

The $38 billion group agreed to acquire 75% of Bharti Life from ​Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management ONEW.NS for $389 million, it said on Sunday.

That means Prudential CEO Anil Wadhwani is doing a switcheroo: the transaction requires Pru to reduce its stake in an existing venture with ICICI Bank ICBK.NS to under 10%, from 22%, per the company. It could well go on to divest what remains, leaving Bharti as its key partner.

The Indian business is in need of a reboot. New business sales there fell 2% last year, and its ranking among private life insurers fell to fifth from third a year earlier. That was a disappointing result for what ought to be a high-growth market. The world’s most populous country has only 3% penetration in the life insurance space, Prudential reckons.

Wadhwani’s solution is a creative one. Insurers often lean on large banks like ICICI to reach potential policy buyers. But the target’s main attraction is Bharti Airtel’s BRTI.NS nearly 300 million smartphone customers in India, compared with ICICI’s roughly 80 million retail banking clients, per data from Bharti and BCG Matrix. Overlapping markets in Africa could also open up other emerging markets, while the telecom company's asset management arm could help Pru reach India’s high net worth individuals.

But making it work could be tough. JioBlackRock, a joint venture between BlackRock BLK.N and Jio Financial Services JIOF.NS, is tapping additional distributors to sell its products after trying a digital direct model that leaned on its connections to Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecoms group.

And while the deal price seems fair, it’s not a bargain, valuing the company at just over $500 million, or around 1.5 times its embedded value as of September. That’s in line with the average for rivals SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS, HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS and the Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS, per Visible Alpha, and just below 1.6 times for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS. Shareholders sent Pru’s stock down 2% in morning trade in Hong Kong. That's probably because Wadhwani's punt for better rewards in India comes with higher risks.

Follow Katrina Hamlin on Bluesky and Linkedin.

CONTEXT NEWS

Insurer Prudential said on May 17 that it has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance from ​Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management for an initial cash consideration of $389 million, with a potential additional consideration of up to $78 million, subject to certain conditions.

Prudential’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 2.26% to HK$116.8 in morning trade on May 18.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on HAMLIN/katrina.hamlin@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: katrina.hamlin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

By Jayshree P Upadhyay and Vibhuti Sharma

MUMBAI, April 28 (Reuters) - Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are among 20 investors looking to sell down stakes when India's National Stock Exchange goes public this year, sources familiar with the deal said.

The share sale by India's largest exchange would have a value of $2.75 billion, based on a total valuation for the NSE estimated at $55 billion by a platform that trades its unlisted shares.

It will be one of two large share sales in India this year, along with an issue by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Platforms. The NSE has been trying to list since 2016, with key domestic rival BSE Ltd BSEL.NS listing in 2017.

Also among the sellers will be India's state insurer Life Insurance Corporation LIFI.NS, its largest bank State Bank of India SBI.NS and homegrown private equity fund ChrysCapital, the two sources said.

Overall, existing shareholders in the NSE will sell a 5% stake in the IPO, added the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to name the investors for the first time, as they were not authorised to talk to media.

In response to Reuters' queries, the NSE said its board has approved an initial public offering through an offer for sale, but declined further comment at this stage.

LIC, SBI and ChrysCapital did not respond to requests for comment. Temasek and CPPIB declined to comment.

The NSE is also the world's most active equity derivative trading platform, with a listing approved this year after a long delay due to litigation with markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

A monetary settlement to resolve the litigation is likely, opening the way for the public offer.

With 177,807 shareholders, the NSE is India’s largest unlisted company by number of investors, making the offering exercise more complex.

LIC, SBI, Temasek Holdings, Morgan Stanley and CPPIB are the institutional shareholders.

Monday was the deadline for expressions of interest to sell, sought by merchant bankers as part of the IPO process, both sources said.

NSE will now move on to file its draft prospectus with SEBI by next month, after its financial results are declared.

NSE's quarterly after-tax profit rose 15% to 24.08 billion rupees in the third quarter ended December 31, boosted by improvements in derivatives trading. Its consolidated revenue from operations rose nearly 7% from the previous quarter.

(Reporting by Jayshree P. Upadhyay and Vibhuti Sharma in Mumbai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

((Vibhuti.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))

April 22 (Reuters) - Reliance Communications Ltd RLCM.NS:

• CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED SEIZURE OPERATION AT CO'S MUMBAI PREMISES

• COMPANY CONTINUES TO OPERATE ITS BUSINESS IN THE NORMAL COURSE

• SEIZURE OPERATION NOT EXPECTED TO HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THE FINANCIALS OR OPERATIONS OF CO

• CBI OFFICIALS SEIZED DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO NCDS, COMMERCIAL PAPERS ISSUED TO LIC

Further company coverage: RLCM.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

April 13 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• LIC - BOARD APPROVES ISSUANCE OF BONUS EQUITY SHARES IN 1:1 RATIO

Source text: ID:nBSE2GksnW

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

April 7 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• LIC - TO CONSIDER BONUS ISSUE

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

March 25 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• LIC- RECEIVES TAX DEMAND OF 61.47 BILLION RUPEES AND INTEREST OF 9.53 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE2HtR4v

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Adds IDBI's response from exchange filing

By Urvi Dugar and Mridula Kumar

BENGALURU, Mar 16 (Reuters) - Shares of IDBI Bank IDBI.NS slumped as much as 16.5% on Monday after reports that the Indian government would shelve bids for a majority stake in the lender, as the offers were below the minimum price expectation.

The shares were trading 15.2% lower at 78.20 rupees as of 12:57 a.m. IST, set for their biggest single-day drop since June 2024.

The government has been trying to sell a stake in IDBI Bank for the last four years as part of a broader push to privatise state-run firms. The planned sale included a 30.48% stake held by the government and a 30.24% stake by state-run insurer Life Insurance Corp LIFI.NS, which had rescued IDBI in 2018 after it was weighed down by bad loans.

The government had planned to complete the sale by the end of this month.

IDBI said in an exchange filing that it had received no government communication on the disinvestment process, which it said was being handled by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management and did not involve the bank.

The tepid interest for IDBI Bank contrasts with strong foreign investor appetite for Indian lenders, underscored by Emirates NBD's ENBD.DU buying a 60% stake in RBL Bank RATB.NS for $3 billion and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp 8316.T acquiring a 24% stake in Yes Bank YESB.NS.

IDBI's stake sale had attracted bids from the Canadian investment group Fairfax Financial FFH.TO and Emirates NBD, Reuters reported in February.

A source told Reuters on Friday that the government may initiate a fresh process for IDBI Bank when market appetite improves.

The run-up in IDBI's stock ahead of the expected deal has now reversed since the transaction has fallen through, said Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura Securities, though he has no concerns about the bank's fundamentals.

Until Friday's close, the shares had gained 116% since October 2022, when the divestment process was first announced. The state-run bank index .NIFTYPSU rose 182% over the same period.

The finance ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on Monday.

($1 = 92.4525 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

((UrviManoj.Dugar@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9558725583;))

Recasts throughout, changes sourcing

March 13 (Reuters) - India will shelve the bids it received for a majority stake sale in IDBI Bank IDBI.NS, as the offers received were below the government's minimum price expectation, a government source told Reuters.

The Indian government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS had initiated the process to sell 60.7% of the lender in 2022.

India's government owns 45.48% of IDBI Bank, while LIC holds 49.24%.

The existing sale process would be scrapped as the bids received were below the so-called reserve price, or the minimum sale price, set for the sale, the source said.

Bloomberg News reported the development first.

The government may initiate a fresh process when the market appetite improves and there is strong interest among buyers, the source added.

IDBI Bank and India's finance ministry didn't immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

Reuters had reported that the planned sale of IDBI Bank had attracted bids from Canadian investment group Fairfax Financial FFH.TO and Emirates NBD ENBD.DU.

Tepid interest in acquiring the lender controlled by LIC contrasts with strong foreign investor appetite underscored by Dubai-based Emirates NBD's ENBD.DU $3 billion purchase of a 60% stake in RBL Bank RATB.NS and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp's acquisition of a 24% stake in Yes Bank YESB.NS.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Anna Peverieri; Editing by Louise Heavens)

((Anna.Peverieri@thomsonreuters.com;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, March 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A dealmaking boom in India's banking sector has an unlikely loser: the government. Canadian insurance holding firm Fairfax Financial FFH.TO leads the race to buy a 61% stake from Indian state entities in $13 billion IDBI Bank IDBI.NS, Bloomberg reported in February, citing sources. An $8 billion transaction would be the largest-ever foreign direct investment in a local bank. But crystallising a premium valuation looks challenging.

A deal would complete a full circle for the lender hardest hit by an asset quality crisis: in 2018, bad loans comprised nearly one-third of its portfolio. Provisions for that sour pool eroded its capital base and prompted New Delhi, which then owned 86% of IDBI, to press state-backed Life Insurance Corporation LIFI.NS to pump in 216 billion rupees, or $2.4 billion at current rates, to raise its 8% stake to 51% in 2019.

LIC now holds 49% of IDBI's shares and the government owns 45%. Selling a 30% stake to Fairfax at the latest market price would fetch the insurer a 136% return on its 2019 investment. New Delhi would be worse off, though: the lender's shares trade lower than they did 13 years ago.

Yet even current multiples may be difficult to fetch. IDBI's shares are trading at about 2 times forward book value, almost twice that of similar-sized rivals Yes Bank YESB.NS and IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS. Throwing in employee liabilities, restructuring costs and the likely absence of indemnity clauses gives the buyer a strong case for a discount.

An abundance of takeover targets has hurt New Delhi, too. Launched in 2022, the slow-moving sale process of IDBI prompted early potential bidders to look elsewhere: last year Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation 8316.T bought a 24% stake in Yes Bank.

With Emirates NBD ENBD.DU still in the reckoning with Fairfax, it's a two-horse race to own IDBI. Both bidders already have a foothold in India's credit market: the Dubai-headquartered lender is set to take control of the $2 billion RBL Bank RATB.NS and Fairfax owns $675 million CSB Bank CSBB.NS.

That chips away at any shred of bargaining power left with the sellers, who can hardly demand a control premium. Regulations cap voting rights of private bank shareholders at 26%. That puts the new owner effectively at par on voting decisions with LIC and the government, which will hold a combined 34% after the sale. To maximise takings, officials could ask the central bank to relax the voting rule. The other option is to reduce their total stake to well below 26%.

Otherwise, New Delhi risks catching the weak end of India's banking M&A wave.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Fairfax Financial Holdings is the frontrunner to buy a majority stake in IDBI Bank, Bloomberg reported on February 27, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Valuing the 61% stake that the government and the Life Insurance Corporation of India hold in IDBI at the current market price of about $8 billion could make it the biggest foreign direct investment in the country's banking sector, the report added.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/shritama.bose@thomsonreuters.com))

March 2 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• LIC - LIC EXTENDS CFO SUNIL AGARWAL'S TERM UNTIL MARCH 2027

Source text: ID:nBSE4wXsK5

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Cipla Ltd CIPL.NS:

• LIC RAISES STAKE IN CIPLA TO 9.091% FROM 7.055% BETWEEN NOV AND FEB- FILING

Source text: ID:nBSE3SBW2S

Further company coverage: CIPL.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• LIFE INSURANCE CORP Q3 PAT 129.58 BILLION RUPEES

• LIC Q3 NET PREMIUM INCOME 1.26 TRLN RUPEES

• LIC 9-MTHS FY26 VNB MARGIN AT 18.8%

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Adds details from paragraph 2-9

By Nikunj Ohri

NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Indian government is holding inter-ministerial consultations to raise the limit on foreign direct investment in state-run banks to 49% from 20%, India's financial services secretary M Nagaraju told reporters on Monday.

Foreign interest in India's banking industry is on the rise as evidenced for instance by Dubai-based Emirates NBD's ENBD.DU $3 billion purchase of a 60% stake in private RBL Bank RATB.NS.

Currently, India allows 74% foreign investment in private banks but limits shareholdings of any single foreign institution to 15% unless the Reserve Bank of India grants an exemption.

The Asian nation plans to more than double current limits of direct foreign investment in state-run banks, Nagaraju said. Raising the foreign ownership limit will help them gain more capital in the coming years, Reuters reported last year.

Separately, India's state-run banks will launch qualified institutional placement (QIP) of shares worth about 500 billion rupees ($5.46 billion) in the fiscal 2026-27 year (April-March), more than the planned 450 billion rupees in the current fiscal year, Nagaraju said.

He was speaking to reporters in New Delhi a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the nation's annual budget .

New Delhi may also launch an offer next year to sell a portion of its stake in the insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation LIFI.NS, he added.

The Indian government will also get financial bids for IDBI Bank IDBI.NS this month, Nagaraju said.

The government, which owns 45.48% in IDBI Bank, and state-owned LIC which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender. IDBI Bank had to be rescued by the state-owned insurer in 2019 after a surge in bad loans at the lender.

($1 = 91.6350 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Sonali Paul and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com;))

By Gopika Gopakumar and Nikunj Ohri

MUMBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - India's federal government has set a February 5 deadline for financial bids for IDBI Bank IDBI.NS as it looks to divest a majority of its holding in the lender, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The deadline has been communicated to bidders who are eligible for bidding, suggesting that the process of disinvestment in IDBI Bank has entered its final phase.

The central bank had approved Fairfax Financial Holdings, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS as eligible bidders in 2024, Reuters had previously reported. The divestment process has been underway since then, with the government trying to finalize the details of the stake sale process.

The government had earlier said that it hoped to complete the stake sale process, which began in 2022, by March 2026.

The government, which owns 45.48% in IDBI Bank, and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender.

As part of the stake sale, the successful bidder will be allowed to rename the bank, a separate source familiar with the process said.

IDBI Bank had to be rescued by the state-owned insurer in 2019 after a surge in bad loans at the lender.

An email sent to the federal finance ministry, under which the divestment process falls, was not immediately answered.

(Reporting by Gopika Gopakumar in Mumbai and Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

((Ira.Dugal@thomsonreuters.com; +91-9833024892;))

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Bajaj Finance Ltd BJFN.NS:

• LIC HAS SUBSCRIBED 512,000 DEBENTURES AMOUNTING TO 51.20 BILLION RUPEES OF BAJAJ FINANCE

Source text: ID:nBSE864q1k

Further company coverage: BJFN.NS

((Reutersbriefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Updates with more details

By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Jan 21 (Reuters) - State Bank of India's mutual fund unit has committed to pick up at least 10% of Adani Power's ADAN.NS nearly $820 million rupee-denominated bond issue, likely to be launched later this week, three merchant bankers said on Wednesday.

The mutual fund, India's biggest in terms of assets under management, is acting as one of the anchor investors for the issue, with a commitment of 7.50 billion rupees, the bankers said, requesting anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

The planned 75 billion-rupee issue would be the group's largest-ever rupee bond sale.

SBI Mutual Fund and Adani Power did not respond to email queries.

Adani Power is looking to raise 28.60 billion rupees through a two-year option and 26.90 billion rupees via a three-year note.

SBI MF will buy 4.50 billion rupees and three billion rupees of these papers as the anchor investor, the bankers said.

The Adani unit will pay a coupon of 8.00% and 8.20% on the two- and three-year bonds, and 8.30% and 8.40% on four- and five-year papers.

The remaining 6.75 billion rupees and 12.75 billion rupees will be raised through four- and five-year papers, respectively, the bankers said.

Trust Investment Advisors, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are the arrangers for the issue.

The lenders have will also back the issue by providing commitments worth 3.31 billion rupees and 3 billion rupees, respectively, the bankers said.

The banks did not reply to an email seeking comment.

The bonds are rated 'AA' by Crisil and India Ratings, with the coupons set to step up by 25 basis points for every notch rating downgrade.

Earlier this financial year, another group company, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone APSE.NS, raised 50 billion rupees by placing 15-year bonds directly with Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS.

($1 = 91.5630 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

((Dharamraj.Dhutia@thomsonreuters.com;))

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Hindustan Unilever Ltd HLL.NS:

• LIC RAISES STAKE IN HINDUSTAN UNILEVER TO 6.740% FROM 4.731% - EXCHANGE FILING

Source text: ID:nBSE4MCpS9

Further company coverage: HLL.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• GETS TAX DEMAND OF 10.4 MILLION RUPEES, WITH INTEREST OF 7 MILLION RUPEES, PENALTY 1 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSEb9012k

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Nov 28 (Reuters) - ACC Ltd ACC.NS:

• LIC INCREASES STAKE IN ACC BY 2.014% TO 10.596% - EXCHANGE FILING

Source text: ID:nBSEcgQgcx

Further company coverage: ACC.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Oct 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India's largest companies are struggling to fit in, quite literally. Officials are easing rules on minimum free floats and offer sizes to smooth the way for big initial public offerings. It bridges a gap between a requirement for capital formation and what the market can absorb, but it comes at a cost to governance.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India last month said issuers valued at more than 5 trillion rupees ($56.8 billion) can offer stock worth as little as 150 billion rupees ($1.7 billion) in their public debuts and 1% of their post-issue market capitalisation, down from 5% earlier. It also gave issuers up to 10 years to raise their minimum public shareholding to 25%, effectively doubling the previous timeline.

Reliance Industries' RELI.NS telecom unit Jio and the National Stock Exchange, both in the queue to list, will be among the top beneficiaries. It extends to them what was originally an exemption granted to Life Insurance Corporation LIFI.NS for the state-controlled giant's bumper $2.7 billion listing in 2022.

The changes come at a time India's primary market is booming. One-billion-dollar plus offerings like those this month by LG Electronics India LGEL.NS and shadow lender Tata Capital TATC.NS are increasingly frequent. With IPOs worth $16 billion this year, per Dealogic, India is the world's third largest market for debuts and issuance is poised to exceed last year's record; Citigroup expects IPO volumes to hit up to $20 billion through the next 12 months.

Yet despite annual net inflows into the stock market of over $80 billion from domestic institutions and individuals, there is a lack of confidence among officials, issuers and bankers on the market's ability to absorb larger deals; Hyundai Motor India's HYUN.NS 279 billion Indian rupee ($3.18 billion at current rates) deal in 2024 is the country's largest IPO to date.

If India is loosening the rules to allow big companies to go public, it should strengthen other guardrails to protect minority investors that could be hurt by a low free float. Hong Kong-based Asian Corporate Governance Association disagreed with SEBI's proposal to extend the minimum free float timeline and recommends mandating at least 50% independent board directors for firms with a less than 25% public holding as well as time-bound roadmaps for dilution. Easier rules call for a tighter leash.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

India will log $8 billion in initial public offerings during the final quarter of 2025, Reuters reported on October 1, citing investment bankers.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on September 12 allowed companies worth at least 5 trillion rupees to offer as little as 150 billion rupees of stock to the public and at least 1% of the post issue market capitalisation, down from 5% earlier.

They will have five years to achieve a minimum public shareholding of 15% and another five years to take it to 25%, the markets regulator said. Companies of that size earlier had only five years to reach the 25% level.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/shritama.bose@thomsonreuters.com))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Refiles to add conversion of Indian rupee into US dollar in the second paragraph.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Oct 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - All that glitters isn't gold when it comes to India's richest man. When Mukesh Ambani lists his telecom business in Mumbai next year, it will be a blockbuster event for the country's capital markets but it also will crystallise underwhelming returns for the world's biggest tech companies, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds who backed his consumer unit in 2020. It heralds a reset of how foreigners view tycoons and competition in the country.

Five years ago when the Covid pandemic was shaking the world, Ambani's conglomerate Reliance Industries RELI.NS sold 1.5 trillion rupees ($16.99 billion) of stock in Jio Platforms to investors led by Meta Platforms META.O, KKR KKR.N and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund; the flood of funds into India at the time was so large it caused a spike in foreign direct investment.

At 5.16 trillion rupees including debt, or $59 billion at current exchange rates, the landmark fundraising valued Jio's enterprise at 23 times its EBITDA, a multiple twice its nearest rival Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Airtel and one reminiscent of a fast-growing technology startup.

Part of the hype was justified. The telecom unit Ambani founded in 2016 rose quickly by launching a bruising price war and was given a wide berth by India's competition authorities. Jio became the country's top provider of mobile services and helped to push down data tariffs to the lowest in the world. It even accelerated the bankruptcy of Reliance Communications RLCM.NS, led by Ambani's brother Anil. By the time Ambani welcomed outside investors, India's telecoms market had shrunk to a quasi-duopoly with a joint venture between Britain's Vodafone VOD.L and Kumar Mangalam Birla as a weak third player.

Fast forward and Jio had 498 million voice and data customers as of June 30 . Yet while this consumer business within Ambani's oil-to-retail conglomerate has continued to grow, it also has failed to live up to expectations in some striking ways.

Five years on from its fundraising, Jio's enterprise, including net debt, is valued at 10.6 trillion rupees, based on an average estimate of six brokers. That is nearly twice the value investors assigned it in 2020 or equivalent to an annualised return of nearly about 15%, one percentage point more than the annualised gross return of the MSCI India Index over a five year period. Private equity investors typically target returns of 20% and much higher in India.

Measured a different way, Jio's potential return could be even lower. The enterprise is worth just 8.7 trillion rupees if it is valued on 10 times its EBITDA, the same multiple Bharti Airtel commands. At that valuation, Jio would hand its backers including KKR, Silver Lake and TPG, an annualised return of just over 10%.

One problem is that Jio does not look like a "next generation technology platform". In 2020, Jio talked up a dazzling list of investments across its "digital ecosystem" including in "smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain". Although Jio doesn't have legacy 3G infrastructure to manage like its rivals, it still makes 87% of its revenue and 94% of its EBITDA from its basic communications unit Reliance Jio Infocomm RELJ.NS rather than from digital services, per CLSA analysts.

What's more, Jio's customers spend less than Airtel's. Average revenue per user has grown 60% over the last five years to 209 rupees ($2.37) but that lags the 250 rupees Airtel's India users churn out. Airtel's EBITDA margin for India and South Asia is also higher than Jio's by a staggering 770 basis points and its current offerings in cloud and artificial intelligence services closely mirror its challenger's.

Nor does Jio appear to have delivered on its strategic ambitions. Meta's Facebook pumped $6 billion in for a 10% stake but Ambani - whose Reliance conglomerate is also the owner of India's biggest retailer - did not lure millions of small grocers to transact on the payments system on WhatsApp, the U.S. company's social messaging platform - as was widely expected.

The rise of quick-commerce operations by Prosus-backed Swiggy SWIG.NS and Zomato-owner Eternal ETEA.NS killed Reliance Retail's 2022 attempt to enable grocery shopping through the messaging app. Similarly, Alphabet's Google GOOGL.O invested $4.5 billion in Jio but demand for the low-cost smartphone the duo launched in 2021 was weak; the telecom operator's wide reach didn't guarantee it a market.

Ambani's backers underestimated the strength of competition in India. They would have been better off if they had backed Bharti Airtel. Its shares have returned roughly 40% annually, including dividends, since 2020, significantly more than Jio looks set to deliver. Google enjoyed some of those spoils by hedging its bets: In 2022 it invested up to $1 billion in Jio's rival.

If Jio's returns are underwhelming, crystallizing them will be tough too. Ambani will need to launch one of India's largest initial public offerings. If 5% of the company's outstanding shares swap hands at a $120 billion valuation, Jio's bankers would need to find new owners for $6 billion of stock. That would be far too much for India's capital markets to swallow: Hyundai Motor India's HYUN.NS 279 billion rupee offering in 2024 remains the country's largest IPO, followed by Life Insurance Corporation's LIFI.NS 210 billion rupee deal in 2022.

Ambani could offer half the amount of stock or roughly $3 billion, using new rules from the Securities and Exchange Board of India but that would leave financial investors with billions of dollars of investments in Jio waiting for an exit; strategic investors, who may be willing to sit on their positions, bought about half of the $17 billion Jio initially raised.

Some of Jio's backers may still conclude that the investment was worth it. The dominance of family-led businesses in India often means that striking partnerships is increasingly seen as a matter of survival rather than choice for global companies and a way to protect themselves in the market. Global asset manager BlackRock BLK.N and China-founded online fast-fashion Shein are among others who are partnering with Ambani.

Yet an underwhelming payoff from Jio will strengthen the case for more scrutiny when foreign investors choose their local alliances in the future.

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CONTEXT NEWS

Reliance Industries will list its telecommunications unit by mid-2026, Chair Mukesh Ambani said at the conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting on August 29. "We are aiming to list Jio by the first-half of 2026, subject to all necessary approvals," he said.

Jio Platforms is targeting India's largest-ever initial public offering, IFR reported on September 5, citing unnamed bankers.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/shritama.bose@thomsonreuters.com))

Rewrites throughout, adds analyst comments in paragraph 3

By Vivek Kumar M and Kashish Tandon

Oct 14 (Reuters) - LG Electronics India LGEL.NS soared 53.4% in its trading debut on Tuesday, overtaking its South Korean parent's market value, as investors bet big on its manufacturing and retail ambitions in the country, fuelled by a surge in consumer demand.

Policy support, including India's recent tax cuts on consumer goods such as refrigerators and televisions, and a dovish central bank stance are expected to lift near-term growth for appliance makers.

The listing - the strongest for a billion-dollar IPO in India since 2021 - coincides not only with India's festive season, when spending peaks, but also comes amid a busy primary market, where favourable policies are driving a fundraising boom set to surpass last year's record $20.5 billion.

Consumption is "where LG has gotten a better response compared to other IPOs that are currently in the market", said Deven Choksey, managing director at DRChoksey FinServ.

The blockbuster $1.3 billion offering opened for bids around the same time as the year's largest IPO Tata Capital TATC.NS and office working space major WeWork India's WEWO.NS listing.

However, while LG's IPO was fully subscribed within hours of opening, attracting bids worth nearly $50 billion, both Tata Capital and WeWork logged muted demand across investor segments.

On listing day, the former rose only 1.4%, while the latter fell 3%.

"After a long time, we're seeing a genuinely strong IPO in the consumer space — solid fundamentals, reasonable valuations and sector-leading growth prospects," said Dhiraj Relli, managing director and CEO of HDFC Securities.

The country's second-biggest appliance maker has begun construction of its $600 million-manufacturing facility - its third in India - with plans to convert India into a global export hub, hugely underpinning the investor enthusiasm.

LG Electronics India's shares closed 48.2% higher at 1,689.9 rupees, after listing at 1,710.10 rupees - well above the issue price of 1,140 rupees.

The company notched a valuation of around $13 billion, surpassing its $8.73 billion target and the roughly $9 billion market value of its parent LG Electronics 066570.KS.

The IPO was a pure offer-for-sale, with the parent offloading 15% of its stake as it defends its margins in its core TV and appliance businesses from fierce Chinese competition.

Qualified institutional buyers had bid 166.5-fold their quota, while non-institutional and retail investors had subscribed 22.4 times and 3.54 times, respectively.

Institutional investors are unlikely to be satisfied with the current 5 billion–6 billion rupee allocation, Relli said, adding that they will be forced to participate aggressively beyond the listing to achieve reasonable sizing.

At least five brokerages initiated coverage on the firm, with price targets between 1,700 to 1,800 rupees.

($1 = 88.7680 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon, Vivek Kumar, Chandini Monnappa and Mridula Kumar; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

((mridula.kumar@thomsonreuters.com, vivekkumar.m@thomsonreuters.com))

Adds details in paragraphs 2-9

NEW DELHI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Indian government is planning to sell minority stakes in about half a dozen state-run companies, divestment secretary Arunish Chawla told television channel CNBC-TV18 on Monday.

Chawla did not disclose which companies will be considered for the sale of stakes, but Reuters has previously reported that India has plans to sell shares in five public sector banks including UCO BankUCBK.NS and Bank of MaharashtraBMBK.NS.

India also has to reduce its shareholding in the country's largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS, to meet the market regulator's minimum public shareholding norms.

Chawla said the government will make an initial public offering (IPO) of a state-run firm in the natural resources sector in the current financial year. The IPO could be of a state-run company or their subsidiaries, he added.

Chawla did not name the company, but ONGC ONGC.NS and NHPC NHPC.NS have been exploring listing of their green arms, ONGC Green Energy and NHPC Renewable Energy, respectively.

Minority stake sales and IPOs will help boost divestment proceeds for the government. India plans to raise 470 billion rupees through stake sales and asset monetisation in the current financial year through March 31, 2026.

India's receipts from dividends it receives from public sector companies would exceed its projected target, Chawla said. India has estimated 690 billion rupees ($7.83 billion) through dividends from state-run firms in the current financial year.

($1 = 88.1363 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri, Editing by YP Rajesh & Shri Navaratnam)

((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/TanviMehta710;))

Sept 5 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS:

• LIC - ANTICIPATES A NOMINAL IMPACT OF LESS THAN 0.5% ON OUR EMBEDDED VALUE DUE TO GST CHANGE

• LIC - CONFIDENT GST RELIEF WILL BOOST BUSINESS VOLUMES, VNB, ALIGNING WELL WITH CORPORATION’S OBJECTIVE

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: LIFI.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

MUMBAI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - India's markets regulator has approved Life Insurance Corporation's request to be reclassified as a public shareholder in IDBI Bank IDBI.NS, LIC said in a stock exchange filing on Sunday, paving the way for a strategic sale in the lender.

India has completed due diligence for the stake sale of IDBI Bank and plans to invite financial bids between October and December, the country's divestment secretary said earlier this month.

The government, which owns 45.48% in IDBI Bank, and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS, which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender. The sale process was first announced in 2022.

Reuters has reported that interested buyers include Emirates NBD and Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa.

LIC was previously classified as a promoter shareholder in IDBI Bank, a status it acquired after taking control of the lender in 2019.

As a promoter, LIC had board representation and strategic influence over the bank’s operations. The reclassification strips LIC of those rights, aligning its role with that of a financial investor.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granted the approval on the condition that LIC does not exercise control or have board representation, and limits its voting rights to 10%, according to separate filings by the insurer and the bank.

LIC must also reduce its stake to 15% or below within two years of the bank's reclassification, the filings said.

The sale is targeted for completion within the current fiscal year, Arunish Chawla, secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has said.

Shares of IDBI Bank are up nearly 25% so far this year.

(Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

((swati.bhat@thomsonreuters.com; x.com/swatibhat22;))

** Shares of Life Insurance Corporation Of India LIFI.NS rise 3.9% to 919.25 rupees

** Life insurance company's Q1 profit after tax rose 5% Y/Y to 109.87 bln rupees ($1.3 bln)

** Q1 net premium income rose nearly 5% to 1.19 trln rupees; VNB margin rose to 15.4% from 13.9% a year ago

** JP Morgan expects LIFI to post VNB growth of 22% Y/Y on a full-year basis

** Macquarie says LIFI's management continues to target Y/Y improvement in margin given the potential for further improvement in non-par mix

** Brokerage Emkay said Y/Y improvement in VNB margins was led by increased share of non-par products and improvement in product level margins

** LIFI up ~3% YTD

($1 = 87.5140 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

((VijayDattaram.Malkar@thomsonreuters.com;))

BENGALURU, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS reported a 5% rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher premium from renewed policies.

Profit after tax for the country's biggest insurer rose to 109.87 billion rupees ($1.26 billion) for the quarter ended June 30 from 104.61 billion rupees a year earlier.

($1 = 87.5240 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))

Adds details on timing, stake from paragraph 2

NEW DELHI, Aug 1 (Reuters) - India has completed due diligence for the stake sale of IDBI Bank IDBI.NS and plans to invite financial bids between October and December, the country's divestment secretary said on Friday.

A successful bidder will be announced by the end of March 2026, said Arunish Chawla, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary.

Banking sector deals in India, especially those involving foreign entities, are rare. A full takeover of troubled Indian lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank by Singapore-based DBS Group in a regulatory-driven transaction in 2020 was the last major deal.

The sale of a majority stake in IDBI Bank has been seen as a first step towards privatising state-run banks.

The government, which owns 45.48% in IDBI Bank, and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender.

The sale process was first announced in 2022.

Reuters has reported that interested buyers include Emirates NBD and Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri, Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Editing by Louise Heavens)

((shilpa.jamkhandikar@thomsonreuters.com;))