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LIC sees Rs 80,000 cr investments in 2004-05
By siliconindia staff writer
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Friday, 16 April 2004, 19:30 IST
NEW DELHI: Country's largest financial institution Life Insurance Corporation will be investing about Rs 80,000 crore in debt, equities and infrastructure projects in this fiscal.
"We have about Rs 80,000 crore investible funds. Most of it (over 50 per cent) will be in Government securities," LIC chairman SB Mathur said on Thursday.
About eight-nine per cent of the LIC funds would go to the equities market as well. Last fiscal, LIC invested about Rs 760 crore in equities including Rs 300 crore in the public offerings of disinvestment-bound PSUs.
With assets over Rs 3,50,000 crore and hidden reserves of over Rs 40,000 crore, LIC is set to invest over Rs 11,000 crore in infrastructure.
The first tranche of its major investment of Rs 6,500 crore was committed to National Hydro Power Corporation on Thursday through a 20-year loan.
LIC is also considering loans for other infrastructure projects of National Highway Authority of India, National Thermal Power Corporation, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, Konkan Railway, PowerGrid, Power Finance Corporation and other private players.
NHAI would be provided Rs 6,000 crore for five years while Konkan Railway may get Rs 500-700 crore.
Negotiations are on with other companies for line of credit, the LIC officials said.
Power sector continues to be major thrust area for LIC. "There were few takers for loans in other sectors in the last few years. But now, demand has picked up in other sectors like roads," Mathur said.