JOIN USTalks on for stake sale in 60 PSU cos
Briefing reporters, Disinvestment Secretary Sunil Mitra also said the recently cleared follow-on public offers of NTPC, Rural Electrification Corporation and Satluj Vidyut Nigam are expected to hit the markets this fiscal. Mitra, however, did not say whether disinvestment would in fact happen in all the 60 PSUs. He also did not give the timeline for the stake-sale, or specify any target for realisations. “We are in talks with the Ministry of Steel for NMDC, as also SAIL, with Coal Ministry on Coal India. On BSNL also, with IT and Communication Ministry),” he said.
Mitra informed that there are 10 listed PSUs where the public holding is less than 10 per cent and around 50 which are profitable but unlisted during 2007-08. “We are interacting with all the administrative departments and all (60) companies,” he said. Mitra said each disinvestment will be considered on a case-by-case basis for approval by the government.
On realisations from disinvestment, Mitra said “number will depend when they are taken to the market, what the market conditions are. So at this moment we have not even attempted any such projection for this year and for the next few years.” The public holdings in these companies range from 0.67 per cent to about 9.6 per cent.