Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has appointed former top executive of Reliance-Nippon Life Insurance, Sunil Agarwal, as its chief financial officer (CFO) ahead of the launch of its initial public offering (IPO).

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The CFO position in LIC was earlier known as executive director F&A (finance and accounting) and it was held by Shubangi Sanjay Soman till now.

LIC had been looking for a CFO since September 2021 when it first invited applications for the post. The post of CFO, according to the notification released then, is for three years, and Sunil Agarwal will draw an annual salary of Rs 75 lakh during the period.

Also read: Govt may delay LIC IPO to next fiscal amid Russia-Ukraine war

The new LIC CFO has nearly 20 years of experience in the insurance sector. He was previously associated with Reliance-Nippon Life Insurance as its CFO for 12 years. Before that, he worked with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance for five years.

War clouds over IPO

While Agarwal’s appointment is being seen as a strategic move by LIC before its planned IPO, many believe the public listing could be delayed due to global uncertainty following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Also read: Bottomline | LIC IPO: A big test for India

Subhash Chandra Garg, former finance secretary, is of the view that the central government should delay the LIC IPO till next year. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Garg said the current situation, induced by the Ukraine-Russia fallout, has provided a “good ground” to the government to rethink its plans for the state-run insurer, adding that the “opportunity should be used to push LIC IPO to Q1 of next year.”

The impact of the geopolitical tension following Russia’s war in Ukraine is also visible on the Indian stock market. The sensex, on March 3, continued its fall, ending 366 points lower at 55,102.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Mar 3, 2022 8:08 PM IST