LIC IPO: Brokers lure newbies with freebies | Business news from India

Mumbai: Brokers are making every effort to attract new investors ahead of the opening of the first offering for life insurance giant LIC. From the opening free Demat accounts with first-year voice-activated account opening fee waivers in rural areas – it is mainly the tech-driven brokers who are attracting new investors in large numbers.
“Our account opening numbers are up 35% week-on-week and this increase can be directly attributed to demand for LIC’s upcoming IPO,” said Varun Sridhar, CEO of Paytm Money.
Several brokerage houses wave demat account opening fees down and do not pass on the stamp duty and other statutory levies to incoming new customers. As an added benefit, some also waive Demat lifetime maintenance fees, while others limit the freebie to only the first year.
Religare Broking, a domestic brokerage house, has recently partnered with Spice Money, a fintech focused on rural India, to open demat accounts in the Indian hinterland. As part of the partnership, Spice Money’s agents in the rural areas, called Adhikaris, will assist people to open Demat accounts with Religare and also help them invest in LIC’s IPO.
Spice Money co-founder and CEO Sanjeev Kumar said his partnership with Religare would provide an opportunity for rural citizens to participate in the Mega-LIC IPO and other capital markets-related products in the future. “Access to the IPO of a brand that enjoys nationwide trust, like LIC, will help rural citizens become familiar with the phenomenon of investment opportunities previously unknown to them,” Kumar was quoted as saying in a press release.
Paytm Money is also tapping into upstate prospects to open accounts and invest in the life insurer’s IPO. It has placed QR codes in Kirana stores across the country to give the common man the opportunity to invest with free Demat accounts for life, a press release said. “Using these QR codes, anyone can easily create their free Demat accounts… and place their bids for LIC’s IPO.”
Integrated, a domestic brokerage house, is offering Rs 500 to customers who open Demat accounts with it, a company mailer said.

Cheryl Tenny

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