Govt eyes divestment in IOC, SAIL and ONGC in Q1 next year

"We are looking at divestment in Indian Oil Corporation, Steel Authority of India Ltd and ONGC in the first quarter of 2011," Disinvestment Secretary Sumit Bose told reporters here. He, however, declined to comment on the amount that the government is likely to raise from the three issues.

"We can't do valuation right now," Bose said, when asked about the amount that could be mopped up from disinvestment in SAIL, IOC and ONGC. Bose also said that the divestment target of Rs 40,000 crore will be achieved this fiscal.

"We are raising Rs 40,000 crore through divestment this fiscal. We are now planning to disinvest stake in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Manganese Ore (India) Limited and Hindustan Copper in current fiscal year," Bose said.

Aiming to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment in the current fiscal, the government has diluted its stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, Coal India and Engineers India Ltd.

Besides, PowerGrid Corporation's follow-on offer to raise about Rs 8,000 crore opens tomorrow, when the Centre would disinvest 10 per cent of its 86.36 per cent stake and the company would raise equal per centage of fresh equity.

Last fiscal, it had raised Rs 25,000 crore through stake sale in Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC.