India's first billion-dollar IPO since 2010 all set to be launched today

New Delhi: In what will be the country's first billion-dollar IPO in nearly seven years, SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd will launch an initial public offering on Wednesday to raise as much as $1.3 billion.

SBI Life, a subsidiary of top Indian lender State Bank of India, will open the IPO sale to the public on September 20 and close it on September 22, according to a filing.

The IPO will raise as much as 84 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) for SBI Life's two main shareholders - State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif - which are paring their stakes.

State Bank of India is selling up to an 8 percent stake, or 80 million shares, in SBI Life, while BNP Paribas Cardif is selling up to a 4 percent stake, or 40 million shares.

SBI Life's IPO is the biggest since state-run Coal India's 155 billion rupee ($2.4 billion) IPO in 2010 and market participants expect 2017 to be a record-setting year for India, with fund-raising from IPOs exceeding 2010's $8.5 billion.