NMDC talking disinvestment with govt: Chairman

The country's largest iron ore producer, NMDC, has begun discussions with the steel ministry to divest government shareholding by up to 10 per cent, a move that may fetch the exchequer about Rs 10,000 crore.

The government has already offloaded 1.62 per cent of its shareholding in the listed entity and is considering divesting the remaining 8.38 per cent equity.

"The whole issue is under process. We have already received the SEBI guidelines regarding disinvestment of 10 per cent equity and that is being discussed in the ministry of steel," NMDC CMD Rana Som told PTI.

Also, NMDC may come out with a Follow-on Public Issue (FPO) to meet its expanding capital requirement.

NMDC's shares today ended at Rs 371.70, up 1.95 per cent from its previous close at the Bombay Stock Exchange. The shares of Rs 1 face value exchanged 83,392 hands during the trade.

The finance ministry had asked the steel ministry to work on divesting stakes in the navratna firms NMDC, MOIL and KIOCL, as part of a broader plan to mobilise resources to meet their funding needs.

However, the steel ministry has for the time being decided to hold back further equity dilution in the ailing firm Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) and is working to make it a subsidiary of NMDC Ltd.

But the ministry has given its nod for selling its equity in Nagpur-based Manganese Ore India Ltd.