The LIC way or the Air India way: A tale of two suboptimal paths

Consider two recent sales by the government — of Air India wholesale to the Tata group, and shares in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to retail investors. LIC’s offer price was at a fraction of the metrics at which private sector rivals are valued (typically, in relation to what is called embedded value). Yet its share has fallen since listing — a history that has bedevilled government companies before, like Coal India. In contrast to LIC, which remains 96.5 per cent owned by the government, Air India has been fully privatised. An earlier offer to sell while the government continued to

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