Coronavirus Pandemic Burns ₹2-Trillion Hole In LIC's Investments

A 32 per cent drop in the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 thus far in calendar year 2020(CY20) has weighed heavily on the fortunes of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which has suffered a notional loss of ₹2 trillion in the past two-and-a-half months.

The insurer, known for making large equity investments, has substantial holdings in many listed companies. The dent comes at a time when the government is drawing up plans of listing LIC at the bourses, subject to legislative changes and regulatory approvals.

The value of the insurer’s holdings in listed companies at the end of the December 2019 quarter stood at ₹6.02 trillion, which has come down to ₹3.99 trillion now, translating into a mark-to-market hit of ₹2.03 trillion, or 34 per cent.

The study is based on 209 companies of the S&P BSE 500 index in which LIC held over 1 percentage point stake in the December 2019 quarter. These companies accounted 65 per cent of the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies.