Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company’s initial public offering (IPO) saw a lackluster reception from investors, achieving just 6 percent subscription on its first day of bidding, as reported on Friday.
By 12:57 PM, the company had received bids for 9,246,020 shares against an offer of 16,671,500 shares, according to data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Within this, the retail individual investors (RIIs) category recorded a 9 percent subscription, while non-institutional investors secured only 3 percent. Notably, the qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) said they had not participated yet.
On Thursday, the insurer raised over ₹750 crore from anchor investors in preparation for its IPO. The total offering, amounting to ₹2,516 crore, will end on October 14. The company has established a price range of ₹100 to ₹106 per share, aiming for an approximate valuation of ₹10,000 crore at the upper edge of this range.
Canara HSBC Life Insurance is a joint venture between Canara Bank, which holds a 51 percent stake, and HSBC Group’s HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings, which possesses a 26 percent share. The IPO consists entirely of an offer for sale (OFS) of 23.75 crore equity shares from both promoters and investors.
Specifically, under the OFS, Canara Bank will sell 13.77 crore equity shares, while HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Ltd plans to offload 475,000 shares. Additionally, Punjab National Bank is set to divest 9.5 crore equity shares. It is crucial to highlight that since this is an OFS, Canara HSBC Life will not receive any of the proceeds from the public issue; rather, the funds will be allocated to the selling shareholders.
Founded in 2007, Canara HSBC Life has emerged as a significant player in the Indian life insurance market, leveraging a bank-led model. The allocation of shares in the IPO is set with 50 percent reserved for QIBs, 35 percent for retail investors, and the remaining 15 percent for non-institutional investors. Investors must bid for a minimum of 140 shares and in multiples thereof.
Canara HSBC Life is anticipated to make its market debut on October 17. In December 2024, Canara Bank announced receiving regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank for its proposal to reduce its stake in life insurance and mutual fund businesses.
Published on October 10, 2025.
