Next govt stake sale to see bigger employee participation

Ministry had asked the Sebi to allow participation because it was enthused by the employee subscription demand in IOC and NTPC share sale

With an array of blue-chip public sector undertakings (PSUs) such as ONGC lined up for disinvestment this financial year, employees of state-owned firms will get the right to subscribe to more than double the present quota of shares after market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has agreed to a government proposal.

Enthused by the employee subscription demand earlier this year in the IOC and NTPC share sale, the Finance Ministry had asked Sebi to allow employees to apply for shares beyond the limit of Rs 2 lakh per employee.

Sebi in its board meeting on September 23 allowed the firms to allot more shares for their employees during public offers by increasing the limit for the value of such allotments to Rs 5 lakh, up from Rs 2 lakh currently, under the staff quota. “The next offer for sale or initial public offer of a PSU would have the new ceiling for the employee quota,” an official said.

Currently the government offers shares to employees of a company up to a maximum of 0.5 per cent of the post issue capital of the issuer. The shares are offered at a discount of five per cent.
 

The government had raised Rs 262 crore through allotment of shares to employees of IOC, and Rs 204 crore to employees of NTPC.

In the IOC share sale, employees had applied for 53 per cent of the shares offered for them, while in the NTPC the employees bid for over 85 per cent of the shares.

The government has lined up over a dozen companies, including ONGC, NMDC and BHEL for disinvestment in the current FY.

It hopes to raise over Rs 56,500 crore through stake sale in PSUs. Of this, Rs 36,000 crore would come from minority stake sale, and another Rs 20,500 crore from strategic stake sale.

The government has already raked in over Rs 3,580 crore through stake sale in PSUs in the current FY.