State-owned reinsurer General Insurance Corp (GIC Re) of India has filed for an initial public offering which could, according to estimates, raise over US$1 billion. The IPO is part of the Indian government’s plan to publicly list the five general insurers it has stakes in.

There have been several big-name listings recently in India – Asia’s third-largest economy – inspiring several insurers to follow suit, including SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd, which is owned by the State Bank of India.

GIC Re’s impending IPO will see the government selling around 107.5 million shares, while the insurer will sell 17.2 million new shares, for a total of 124.7 million shares, or 14.22% of GIC Re’s post-issue share capital, its filing said.

The funds raised from the listing will be used by the government to fulfil its fiscal deficit target of 3.2% of GDP for the financial year ending in March. Selling off government stakes in companies is one of the methods outlined in the plan.

Axis Capital, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and Kotak Investment Banking were appointed to manage GIC Re’s IPO, reported Reuters.


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