Government lines up 16 PSUs for disinvestment

UNION Finance Ministry has prepared a list of 16 PSUs including Maharatna PSUs ONGC, Oil India and Coal India for disinvestment in 2016-17. The process could fetch the exchequer Rs 40,000 crore at current stock value. The list includes state-owned companies such as NMDC, MOIL, MMTC, National Fertilisers, NHPC, NALCO and Bharat Electronics, reports said.

On the basis of current market prices, the stake sales could fetch...

the government around Rs 40,000 crore.

Most of these PSUs were up for sale in the last fiscal itself but volatile market conditions delayed the plan. Besides, the Cabinet approvals are also in place for some of these PSUs.

"We have cabinet approval for stake sales. In PSUs which have excess cash, buy back is also an option for which we do not need a new approval," a source was quoted as saying.

On the basis of the current market price, 10 percent stake sale in Coal India, NMDC and Nalco could fetch around Rs 18,000 crore, Rs 3,800 crore and Rs 1,000 crore respectively.

Besides, 5 percent stake sale in ONGC, BHEL and Bharat Electronics could raise about Rs 9,000 crore, Rs 1,300 crore and Rs 1,400 crore.

A 10 percent stake sale in NHPC and MOIL could fetch around Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 365 crore.

Further, a 15 percent stake sale in MMTC, National Fertiliser and STC could raise about Rs 560 crore, Rs 200 crore and Rs 80 crore respectively.

Besides, the government is also considering a 5 percent stake sale in Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd, 12.03 percent in ITDC and a follow on public offer of NBCC.

The Budget has set a disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore for current fiscal. Of this, Rs 36,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sale in PSUs, and the remaining Rs 20,500 crore is projected to come from strategic sale in both profit and loss-making companies.

During the last fiscal, the government sold its stakes in as many as seven PSUs. CONCOR was the seventh PSU whose stake it sold in the first week of March. Earlier, the government raised over Rs 18,000 crore through stake sale in six PSUs -- IOC, NTPC, EIL, PFC, REC and Dredging Corporation.

In the revised estimates, the government has lowered the disinvestment target for the current fiscal to Rs 25,000 crore from the budgeted Rs 41,000 crore.