Govt plans stake sale worth Rs 34,000 cr in IOC, SAIL, five other PSUs

Other companies on radar are hydro-power firm NHPC, Power Finance Corporation, REC and NLC India Ltd

Kick-starting the process of selling minority stake in seven PSUs including bluechips like IOC, SAIL and NTPC, which have the potential to collectively raise over Rs 34,000 crore, the government has begun scouting for merchant bankers.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has come out with RFPs for appointing merchant bankers and legal advisers for stake sale in these state-owned companies.

The other companies on the radar are hydro-power firm NHPC, Power Finance Corporation (PFC), REC and NLC India Ltd.

DIPAM Secretary Neeraj Gupta said no timeframe has been fixed for these disinvestments and the request for proposal (RFP) is merely a decision to appoint merchant bankers.

"The process is routinely done to explore the possibility of disinvestment. There is no imminent disinvestment in any of these PSUs," Gupta said.

An official source said that these stake sales will take some time to happen as there are already 12 PSUs for which the government has secured approval from the Cabinet to go ahead with disinvestment.

As per the RFP, the government plans to sell three per cent stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), 10 per cent each in steel major SAIL, thermal power major NTPC, NHPC and PFC.

Besides, a 15 per cent stake in NLC India (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation) and five per cent in REC is proposed to be put on the block.

At the current market prices, the stake sale could fetch the exchequer about Rs 34,000 crore, including Rs 13,000 crore from NTPC, Rs 6,000 crore from IOC and Rs 2,500 crore from steel major SAIL.

Besides, a minority stake sale in PFC could fetch Rs 4,000 crore, that in NHPC could garner Rs 3,000 crore, NLC (Rs 2,000 crore) and REC (Rs 1,000 crore).

Government holds 58.28 per cent in IOC, 69.74 per cent in NTPC, 75 per cent in SAIL and 74.50 per cent in NHPC.

Besides, it holds 90 per cent in NLC India, 67.80 per cent in PFC and 60.64 per cent in Rural Electrification Corporation.

In the Budget 2017-18, the government set a target of Rs 46,500 crore to be mobilised through minority stake sale and Rs 15,000 crore from strategic disinvestment.