 "Govt might reduce stake in Axis Bank")
The finance ministry is considering a plan to sell part or all of a $1.7-billion stake in Axis Bank, as the government tries to narrow the Budget deficit, people familiar with the matter said.
The administration might pare 11.6 per cent stakes held through the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), the people said, asking not to be identified, as a final decision hasn’t been taken. D S Malik, a spokesman for the finance ministry, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s goal is a Budget deficit of 3.9 per cent of gross domestic product in the current financial year, an eight-year low. So far, the government has raised only Rs 12,700 crore of an asset-sale target of Rs 69,500 crore for this financial year, government data show.
Axis Bank shares fell five per cent in Mumbai on Thursday to Rs 409.25, the lowest since October 2014. That exceeded the 2.2 per cent drop in the benchmark Sensex.
