The shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) may list at a discount to the issue price if the grey market premium on the shares is an indication, bringing back the memories of the disastrous debut of Paytm parent One97 Communications in November.

The grey market for IPOs is an unofficial over-the-counter arcade where the shares are bought and sold before they are officially traded on the bourses.

In most of the cases, the actual listing is on the lines of the trend in this market, which can fluctuate on a day-to-day basis. Shares of LIC are likely to be listed on May 17.

Sources said the LIC share was commanding a premium of around Rs 90 even a few days before the IPO but was steadily declining since then to around Rs 50, and it turned negative on Tuesday. It is now believed to have slipped to a discount of over Rs 18 to the issue price of Rs 949 per share.

Experts attribute this trend to the selloff in the secondary markets that has been driven by consistent outflows from FPIs.

Moreover, lacklustre participation from the FPIs as well as high net worth individuals has dented the sentiment for the country’s largest insurer in the grey market.

Going by the grey market, the LIC share could get listed at around Rs 930, which will hit the domestic fund houses who have received allotment through the anchor quota.

The situation is not that bad for retail investors and policy holders as they will receive the shares at a discount of Rs 45 and Rs 60, respectively.

Delhivery IPO

Supply chain company Delhivery's initial share sale got subscribed 21 per cent on the first day of subscription on Wednesday. The IPO got bids for 1.3 crore shares against 6.2 crore shares on offer.