LIC pleased with the outcome after meeting with the Adani Group executives

In an interview with the media following the 22nd Global Conference of Actuaries in New Delhi, LIC chairperson Mr Kumar stated that the LIC officials had met with the top management of the Adani Group and were pleased with the Adani LIC meeting’s outcome.

In light of the considerable volatility in Adani shares, Kumar stated during the earnings conference that the LIC management would shortly contact the Adani Group’s top management and request clarity.

LIC says Adani collaboration is “a drop in the ocean”

People were concerned about the Adani LIC collaboration because LIC is the largest insurance company in India and has a large number of policyholders. Adani Group is a rapidly growing conglomerate that has faced several hardships including debt. Some people were concerned that LIC’s investments in Adani Group companies were too risky and could put policyholders’ money at risk. Others were concerned that the collaboration was a conflict of interest, as LIC is a state-owned company and Adani Group is privately owned.

• But, Mr Kumar reassures shareholders and policyholders that there is no need to be concerned about the Adani LIC collaboration. For the stockholders and policyholders, there is not even a 1% risk. The investments themselves won’t be affected in any way. They’ll make sure that this problem is resolved. This is a relatively insignificant matter.

Mr Kumar added that they had spoken with the Adani Group’s management.

There is nothing alarming about the Adani Group

Private life insurance companies continue to have the lion’s share of the market for life insurance in India, which LIC dominates. Because LIC is a government entity, the investments that its customers make there are completely secure. For the fourth quarter of FY23, LIC reported a bottom-line increase that was outstanding. Consolidated PAT increased by a staggering 447.47% or 5.5 times year-over-year to reach 13,190.79 crores for the quarter that ended in March 2023.

The PAT for the fourth quarter of the preceding fiscal was only $2,409.39 crore. In order to raise $21,000 billion, the government plans to sell 22.13 billion shares or 3.5% of the massive life insurance company. Prior to this, the life insurance was valued at roughly 13 lakh crore, but that figure has since dropped to 6 lakh crore. According to this projection, LIC would rise to the position of fifth-largest business on the Indian stock market.

Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of the Congress, stated that the Adani Group’s substantial exposure to financial institutions like the LIC and SBI has ramifications for both financial stability and the millions of Indians whose savings are managed by these financial system pillars. SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara calmed investors’ fears by stating that SBI’s exposure to the Adani group is nothing to be alarmed about and that the Adani group hasn’t recently raised any money from SBI.

According to a different official, SBI’s exposure to the Adani Group is below the Reserve Bank of India’s significant exposure guideline. The debt of the group makes up 0.5% of all loans made by Indian banks, according to Jefferies. Debt as a percentage of loans is 0.7% for public sector banks (PSUs) and 0.3% for private banks. LIC further highlighted that all of the Adani debt instruments it owns had credit ratings of AA or higher.

LIC chairperson confirms that there is nothing to worry about the Adani LIC

According to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Chairman MR Kumar, after the Adani Group’s top officials met with the insurance giant’s investment department, LIC is now more optimistic than before about the Adani LIC collaboration. This statement is crucial since it was made soon after US-based global equity investment firm GQG Partners invested $15,446 crore in four Adani Group firms through secondary market transactions, which sparked a surge in the stock price of the Adani Group.

According to LIC, its exposure to the Adani Group as of December 31, 2022, was 0.97 per cent of its entire AUM, which was 44.34 lakh crore. In contrast to the total acquisition price of $30,127 crore, the value of the shares that LIC currently owns in the Adani Group decreased to $29,893 crore on February 24.

The overall market capitalization of the Adani Group equities has increased by an astounding 1.73 lakh crore over the last four trading sessions as of March 3. The amount invested by LIC in the Adani Group was 39,068.34 crore rupees. Seven out of the ten publicly traded Adani Group firms have investments from the insurance giant. It owns 1.28% of Adani Green Energy and 9.14% of Adani Ports & SEZ.

Shares of Adani Ports have increased by 25.36% in Feb’2023. Adani Green Energy’s shares increased 5% to close at Rs. 562 on Friday, while Adani Ports’ shares increased nearly 10% to conclude at Rs. 684.35.