MMTC disinvestment likely this fiscal: Khullar

The government today said it is likely to dilute its stake in trading firm MMTC through a follow-on offer in the current fiscal.

"(Disinvestment in MMTC) could happen, can be done (this fiscal)," Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar told reporters here.

He further said that the company will split its stock and announce a bonus share before the public offer.

The trading firm, in which government holds 99.33 per cent equity, has received mandatory EGM approval for splitting each share of face value of Rs 10 into 10 scrips of Re 1 each and issuing one-to-one bonus shares.

According to sources, the government is likely to offload 10 per cent stake in the company.  MMTC is under the administrative control of the Commerce Ministry.

However, Khullar said the disinvestment process of the trading firm was progressing "slowly".

"The decision have been taken, there are other couple of decisions to be taken. We have to get the stock split done, bonus issue etc. Once that is done, you have to appoint independent directors on the board in compliance with Sebi regulations and then Disinvestment Department will prepare the Hearing Prospectus...After which it will go to the market...," he said.

Shares of MMTC today settled at Rs 1,382, down 2.06 per cent on the BSE.

Aiming to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment this fiscal, the government has mopped-up over Rs 1,000 crore by divesting stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, and around Rs 1,000 crore through Engineers India follow-on public offer.

Besides MMTC, the government is likely to sell its stake in many firms, including Coal India, ONGC, IOC, SAIL and Hindustan Copper and Power Grid this fiscal.

Last fiscal, it had raised Rs 25,000 crore through stake sale in Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC.