'Stay invested': LIC Chairman's message to shareholders

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), one of the largest investors in the Indian market, sees the current correction as an opportunity to buy stocks.

“I think it is the right time to buy”, LIC Chairman M.R. Kumar said in an interview on Friday.

Speaking with Business Today TV managing editor Siddharth Zarabi, Kumar said maintained that LIC has always been a contrarian investor. “We will always buy in a falling market and sell in a rising market”, he said.

On the issue of the recent decline in the LIC share price, which has fallen over 32 per cent since its debut a month ago, Kumar said the overall downturn in the markets is playing significantly on the minds of investors, adding that once conditions improve, the stock would bounce back.

"I don't think that the anchor investor lock-in period (that expired a month after the company was listed on May 17) has affected the stock at all. I would advise people to stay invested and hold the stock," he said.

Explaining the insurance behemoth’s long-term strategy, Kumar said he is very confident that LIC will continue to hold on to 60-65 per cent share of the market share for the next two to three years. "We are coming up with many new products and a lot more growth is going to happen in coming months. LIC will be able to keep up the market share", he said.

The LIC chairman added that the Indian insurance sector was growing at a rapid pace. “Life insurance companies reported high growth during April and May - primarily on account of low base figures that was affected by a severe Covid strain. We are going to see very good first quarter earnings," he said

Commenting on the first dividend payout after its listing, Kumar said the dividend was decided by the board. “Going forward people should know that just as we take care of policyholder bonuses in the past, we will definitely be taking care of the interest of shareholders as well,'' he said. LIC declared a dividend of Rs 1.50 per equity share with a face value of Rs 10 each for the financial year 2021-22.

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