SAIL FPO in Jan, ONGC in March, IOC deferred: Finmin

"The new year would start with the stake sale of SAIL in January. We would do (disinvestment) in ONGC in March. PFC would also come this fiscal," a finance ministry official told PTI.

The official said the follow-on public offer of Indian Oil Corporation has been deferred to next fiscal.

IOC had last month appointed six merchant bankers for the sale of 10 per cent equity shares in the FPO that its Chairman BM Bansal said was planned for 3rd or 4th week of January.

"We can't have disinvestment of two large companies (ONGC and IOC) from the same sector simultaneously," the official added.

The government has also decided to defer the disinvestment of Rs 4,000 crore Hindustan Copper FPO till next financial year. Its disinvestment was earlier expected to take place this month.

"We have not taken any decision on Hindustan Copper disinvestment now. It would come next fiscal," the official said, adding the government plans to divest its stake in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited also in the next fiscal.

The Cabinet, on December 1, approved sale of government's 5 per cent stake in ONGC, the nation's highest profit-earning firm, to raise up to Rs 13,000 crore.

Post offer, the government shareholding in ONGC would come down to 69.14 per cent from the current 74.14 per cent.

The government plans for disinvestment of SAIL in two phases. In the first phase, besides raising Rs 4,000 crore by divesting its 5 per cent stake in the steel giant, SAIL would raise fresh equity of the same proportion.

In the second phase, another 10 per cent stake sale would be undertaken by SAIL  through the FPO route.

Presently, the government holds a stake of a little over 85 per cent in SAIL and post-FPO its equity in the company is expected to go down to about 69 per cent.

For Power Finance Corporation, the Power Ministry has proposed a disinvestment of five per cent of the Centre's stake in the public sector finance institution, as well as the issue of 15 per cent fresh equity, through the FPO route.

Aiming to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment in the current fiscal, the government has mopped up over Rs 22,000 crore by diluting its stake in six companies-Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, Engineers India, Coal India, Power Grid, Manganese Ore India Ltd and Shipping Corporation.

The amount mopped up from from SAIL, ONGC and PFC could help the government to reach the Rs 40,000 crore target.

"We would reach close to the target of Rs 40,000 crore in the current fiscal. Besides, disinvestment in three companies, we would get some money from SAIL dividend," the official added.