Sterlite Does It Again, Bags Hzl For Rs 445 Crore

In the last disinvestment of the current fiscal, the government today cleared the sale of 26 per cent stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd along with management control for Rs 445 crore.

It also decided to disinvest 51 per cent stake in Engineers India Ltd to a strategic partner and offer 10 per cent equity to employees. The offer to the employees would be at one-third of the market price or the bid price, whichever is lower.

The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD), which met here under the charimanship of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also cleared the shareholder and share purchase agreements for Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. The government holds 59.75 per cent stake in the IPCL and plans to sell 26 per cent stake in the firm.

The progress in the selloff of Hotel Corporation of India (HCI) and India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) properties was also discussed and the CCD approved disinvestment of most of the hotels of the state-owned companies.

Disinvestment minister Arun Shourie told reporters after the meeting that he would sort out the issue of feedstock pricing for IPCL