LIC share price jumps over 7% to hit a 52-week high on getting a one-time 25% shareholding exemption from govt

livemint.com:

₹820.05 in morning trade on BSE on Friday, December 22, a day after the company said the government had granted a one-time exemption to it to achieve minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent. LIC share price opened at ₹805.05 against the previous close of ₹764.55 and soon jumped 7.3 per cent to hit its 52-week high.

Around 9:50 am, the stock was 5.49 per cent up at ₹806.50. LIC share price has gained nearly 12 per cent this year so far (as of December 21 close) while the equity benchmark Sensex has gained over 16 per cent in the same period.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India can now achieve a minimum public shareholding (MPS) of 25 per cent by May 2032 as the government has granted a one-time exemption to the life insurance major in this regard. Also Read: LIC can achieve minimum public shareholding of 25% by May 2032 as govt grants one-time exemption LIC said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges on Thursday, December 21 that the Department of Economic Affairs has decided ‘in the public interest’, to grant a one-time exemption to achieve 25 per cent MPS within 10 years from the date of listing i.e., till May 2032.

As Mint reported earlier, the capital markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has granted five years to large-cap companies for achieving the MPS limit. However, media reports said earlier this year that the government is likely to extend the 25 per cent public float exemption for the life insurer much beyond five years.