JOIN USDespite the petroleum ministry’s reservations, 10 per cent government’s stake in India’s largest oil firm, Indian Oil Corporation (OIL) may get divested by mid-January.
"Everything is going on track now. We will decide on the timing according to the feedback. It is very much on our target. Hopefully, we will divest in second week of January," an official in the finance ministry said.
The government currently holds 78.92 per cent stake in Indian Oil and a 10 per cent divestment is expected to fetch it close to Rs 5,000 crore. It has already held road shows for the divestment in Mumbai and Chennai last week after the promotional roadshows in the US, the UK and Singapore in November which met with poor response.
Investors have questioned the timing of the stake sale as there is no clear roadmap yet to address the lingering fuel subsidy issue.
Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily had earlier this month said that the country’s largest oil firm’s divestment should only take an appropriate time and when the market response was good.
Petroleum ministry had also written to the finance ministry saying that it was not keen divesting stake in the company as the current market prices were low.