Life Insurance Corporation of India has booked profit of about Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) by exiting from some of its investments in shares including illiquid stocks in the current booming markets.

"We were a major purchaser in the capital market when Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index was around 2,900-3000 and now we did what prudent investor would do -- exit by making profit without disturbing the market sentiment," LIC managing director R B Bharadwaj told reporters at function to launch Jeevan Shree-I Policy as a part of insurance week celebrations in Mumbai on Monday.

The corporation has not disturbed the investments in the frontline stocks and used rising markets to exit from illiquid and less frequently traded shares, LIC sources said.

The market value of equity portfolio grew to Rs 31,000 crore (Rs 310 billion), as on July 31, 2003 as against Rs 21,000 crore (Rs 210 billion) at the end of March 2003, the sources added.

The total exposure to corporates and public sector undertakings was about Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) and this includes investments in corporate bonds and equity, Bharadwaj said.

Total new investments in government bonds till July 2003 was over Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) while those in state governments stood at Rs 4,817 crore (Rs 48.17 billion) and in corporate bonds of about Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion), he added.

The corporation placed government securities (G-Sec) of Rs 2,200 crore in the Centre's buyback auction for high cost illiquid G-Secs, LIC chairman S B Mathur said.

Mathur said LIC has sold 83,000 policies under its senior citizen pension scheme for Rs 1,490 crore (Rs 14.90 billion) till August 23, 2003.

LIC has targetted 20 per cent growth in the new individual insurance business in 2003-04 and upto August 15, 2003 its sold 51.11 lakh (5.11 million) policies with the first premium income for Rs 1,166 crore (Rs 11.66 billion), Mathur said.