The initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) opened for subscription on May 4, and by the first two hours, around 27 per cent of the shares up for sale was subscribed.

In the afternoon, policyholders had subscribed to 95 per cent of the shares reserved for them, employees had bid for 46 per cent of the shares reserved for them, and retail investors had subscribed to 30 per cent of the shares reserved for them.

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The non-institutional category, consisting of corporates, individuals, and others, has seen muted demand, with only 5 per cent subscriptions.

The insurer’s IPO will remain open from May 4 to May 9. The government is looking to raise Rs 20,557 crore from the share sale by diluting 3.5 per cent of its stake in the insurance behemoth instead of the 5 per cent proposed earlier due to volatile market conditions amid geopolitical tensions in Europe.