Top headlines: LIC IPO, BSE500 headline P/E falls, Tata Steel's NINL bid

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour.

BSE500 headline P/E declines, but value of most companies rises 

The headline valuation of the broader market has declined in the past one year owing to a sharp rise in the profitability of companies in cyclical sectors such as banking, metals, and oil and gas. However, a majority of the listed companies have seen a rise in their valuations in the past 12 months. Read more

LIC DRHP unlikely to reveal size of IPO; Board to meet again on Sunday 

The draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) may just specify the dilution of the government’s 5 per cent equity in the insurer and is unlikely to mention the issue size because there haven’t been enough consultations on its valuation with potential investors, officials in the know said. “If there would have been a fresh issue of shares, and the raising of fresh capital by LIC, the issue size would have been specified. Read more

Hope builds on visible signs of the old normal; offices start opening up 

Slowly, hopefully, yet cautiously, the world around us is starting to open up. Offices, restaurants, hotels and shopping centres, all are seeing greater activity – though some more than the others. The Indian IT sector, which was among the first to adopt the work-from-home (WFH) model and still has close to 96 per cent of its employees working remotely, given the robust tech support, is now chalking out modalities to get ... Read more

How Tata Steel's bid for ailing NINL fits in with the major's strategy 

On January 31 — the eve of the Union Budget — Tata Steel Long Products (TSLP), a subsidiary of Tata Steel, was declared the winning bidder for a 93.71 per cent stake in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), an asset owned by central and state public sector undertakings (PSUs). In the running were: Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Steel and a consortium of Naveen Jindal-owned Jindal Steel & Power and Nalwa Steel and Power. Read more

Cheer is returning to travel and tourism sector amid demand revival 

Cheer is returning to the travel and tourism sector, too. “Demand has come back strongly,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, CEO of AirAsia India. “We have seen a recovery in our bookings in the last seven days.” While Omicron did not impact essential travel as severely as earlier Covid waves did, leisure travel was hit for 3-4 weeks, said MakeMyTrip group CEO Rajesh Magow. Read more