LIC plans high-decibel campaign ahead of its IPO

In the run-up of its initial public offering (IPO), billed as the biggest ever in India, LIC is likely to use its army of 22.8 lakh agents in a door-to-door, high-decibel awareness campaign about the benefit of investing in the stock market. The campaign, which is expected to be around the lines of the successful ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hain’, will be aimed at ensuring high participation of retail investors, according to a report by the Business Standard.

Campaign to raise awareness

The report said the drive will not be aimed at luring investors towards LIC IPO per se. It is about raising awareness about the benefits of investing in stocks. This campaign will be targeted at retail investors in tier-II and tier -III cities. It will also aim to remove the perception that investing in stock markets is risky. It will also be a campaign to provide them with an opportunity of owning a part of the country’s largest insurer.

Targeting smaller towns and cities

A part of the awareness campaign would be to help people in smaller cities and towns open their Demat accounts and enable them to invest in stocks. LIC agents would help them open accounts in IDBI Bank, where LIC holds 49.24% shares. However, the option will not be restricted to IDBI Bank.

The government is likely to reserve nearly 10% of the issue size for retail investors. According to the report, the government wants to ensure that policyholders’ quota in the initial offering gets fully subscribed.

“As any current campaign cannot specifically focus on subscribing to LIC’s IPO because the insurer is yet to file its offer documents, the drive has been planned to give a push to participation in stock markets by retail investors and policyholders,” it quoted an official as saying.