BENGALURU -- The initial public offering of state-owned insurer Life Insurance Corp. of India was oversubscribed 2.95 times on the back of frenzied bidding by small investors despite a slump in public markets triggered by interest rate hikes in the country and the U.S. last week.
The IPO of a 3.5% stake has become the biggest in India. The government had hoped to raise 205.57 billion rupees ($2.7 billion). Around 57.31% of the offer was allocated to small investors -- policyholders, who received a 60-rupee discount, along with employees and retail investors, who were given a discount of 45 rupees.