LIC to invest Rs 61,000 cr in equity market this fiscal

Profit earned by LIC from stock market:

For the last (full) year Rs.9,400 Cr;

This year, till mid October more than Rs.12,000 Cr!

Unfazed by controversy surrounding its housing finance arm, country's largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) planns to pump in about Rs 61,000 crore in the equity market during this fiscal.

"This year we are likely to invest around Rs Rs 61,000 crore (in equity market)," LIC Managing Director Thomas Mathew told.

Increase in exposure to equity market secondary or primary market would depend on market condition, he said.

"We hold shares for long term. Whether it's down or up it's opportunity for us," he said.

"Now it's (market) up so we have booked profit. Already this year we have made good profits. Last year, total profit by churning portfolio was Rs 9,400 crore full year," he said.

However, during this year till mid-October LIC has earned Rs 12,000 crore by churning portfolio, he added.

During the first seven months (April-October period) of the current fiscal, LIC has breached the Rs 50,000-crore mark.

LIC's new premium stood at Rs 50,605 crore compared to Rs 30,469 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 66 per cent.

Overall, the life insurance industry mopped up new premium of Rs 69,706 crore during April-October this year, up from Rs 46,689 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The 22 private life insurers have collected Rs 19,099 crore in the first seven months of 2010-11, up from Rs 16,217 crore in the same period last fiscal.

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) manages assets worth over Rs 12 lakh crore.

Source : Economic Times