<p>Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India's largest insurer, could publish key details of its mammoth initial public offering (IPO) this month and begin issuing public shares by mid-March, government and banking officials told Reuters on Thursday.</p>.<p>LIC's listing is set to be India's biggest ever IPO, with the government aiming to raise up to Rs 90,000 crore ($12.2 billion) from selling a stake.</p>.<p>Officials are working on the valuation of the company which manages more than $450 billion of assets, and once that is done they will issue a draft IPO prospectus for investors, a government and two banking sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.</p>.<p>"We will be ready to file the draft prospectus as soon as the final embedded value is communicated and we are working with a timeline of doing that by month end," one of the banking sources said.</p>.<p>The embedded value, a measure of future cash flows in life insurance companies and the key financial gauge for insurers, will determine the final valuation of LIC.</p>.<p>The finance ministry and LIC did not immediately respond to email requests seeking comment on the timelines. The embedded value had been expected to come out in November.</p>.<p>LIC has a majority share of the life insurance market in India and the government hopes proceeds from the IPO will help bridge a deficit gap this fiscal year. Listing will also bring more transparency into the working of the state-run company.</p>.<p>The insurance giant also has a subsidiary in Singapore and joint ventures in Bahrain, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.</p>.<p>"Road shows are expected to start from next month onwards and given the current scenario it is expected to be all virtual," the source added.</p>.<p>Last year, the government appointed ten investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and SBI Capital Market to handle the offering.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India's largest insurer, could publish key details of its mammoth initial public offering (IPO) this month and begin issuing public shares by mid-March, government and banking officials told Reuters on Thursday.</p>.<p>LIC's listing is set to be India's biggest ever IPO, with the government aiming to raise up to Rs 90,000 crore ($12.2 billion) from selling a stake.</p>.<p>Officials are working on the valuation of the company which manages more than $450 billion of assets, and once that is done they will issue a draft IPO prospectus for investors, a government and two banking sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.</p>.<p>"We will be ready to file the draft prospectus as soon as the final embedded value is communicated and we are working with a timeline of doing that by month end," one of the banking sources said.</p>.<p>The embedded value, a measure of future cash flows in life insurance companies and the key financial gauge for insurers, will determine the final valuation of LIC.</p>.<p>The finance ministry and LIC did not immediately respond to email requests seeking comment on the timelines. The embedded value had been expected to come out in November.</p>.<p>LIC has a majority share of the life insurance market in India and the government hopes proceeds from the IPO will help bridge a deficit gap this fiscal year. Listing will also bring more transparency into the working of the state-run company.</p>.<p>The insurance giant also has a subsidiary in Singapore and joint ventures in Bahrain, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.</p>.<p>"Road shows are expected to start from next month onwards and given the current scenario it is expected to be all virtual," the source added.</p>.<p>Last year, the government appointed ten investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and SBI Capital Market to handle the offering.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>