LIC pockets Rs. 14,800 crore in stock market profits in H1 FY21

LIC has booked profits of Rs. 14,857 crore for April-September 2020, against Rs. 11,437 crore for the same period last year, showing a growth of 30.37 per cent. LIC’s investment in the capital market and G-Secs this year has also grown compared to last year. In the first half of FY21, LIC’s total investments in G-Secs, SDL (State Development Loans), corporate bonds and equity added up to Rs. 2,63,845.98 crore, up 7.7 per cent against Rs. 2,44,931.33 crore in the same period of FY20. “In government securities and equities we have found good investment opportunities. In corporate bond investments, we are a bit cautious,” LIC Chairman MR Kumar told. He added that LIC plans to invest atleast a further Rs. 2-lakh crore in the remaining part of this fiscal. On its debt portfolio, LIC is not expecting any major defaults, as it believes that with the economic activity gaining momentum in the last two months, corporate financials should improve further. “LIC follows strict due diligences and very few companies have taken a moratorium – it’s not even 2 per cent of our corporate debt,” Kumar. Also, LIC’s 8.25 per cent stake sale in UTI AMC through an IPO should fetch it some tidy gains this fiscal.