IPO-bound LIC ropes in 6 ind directors

Ahead of initial public offering (IPO), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has appointed six independent directors on its board to meet regulatory norms of corporate governance. LIC appointed former financial services secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal, ex-Sebi member G Mahalingam, former SBI Life managing director Sanjeev Nautiyal, sources said.

Besides, chartered accountant MP Vijay Kumar, Raj Kamal, and V S Parthasarathy are roped in as independent directors on LIC’s board. With the appointment, the total number of independent directors goes up to 9 and all vacancies are filled.

Fulfilling corporate governance norms is an important element for filing Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

The central government is expected to file draft papers for the mega initial public offering of LIC with market regulator Sebi by this week, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey had said.

The embedded value of LIC has been arrived at and it is over Rs 5 lakh crore. The size of the issue would be mentioned in the DRHP. The issue, after approval of Sebi, is likely to hit the market in March, Pandey said. Up to 10 per cent of the LIC IPO issue size would be reserved for policyholders.