To meet the fiscal deficit, the government will sell up to 10 per cent stake in state owned Coal India tomorrow. The decision will help the government to raise revenue of 24,000 crore rupees at the current market price. The decision on CIL stake sale was cleared by high-powered ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.The government plans to divest 5 per cent stake in the company via share sale and the remaining 5 per cent through the green-shoe option.Currently, the government holds 89.65 per cent stake in CIL. As per the minimum shareholding norms for listed companies, the government needs to lower its stake in the state-run behemoth to 75 percent. Centre had set a target to raise 43,425 crore rupees revenue from stake sale in public sector undertakings in the current fiscal. Earlier, it has managed to raise 1,700 crore rupees from divesting its 5 per cent stake in Steel Authority of India.Meanwhile, shares of Coal India Ltd fell by over 5 per cent today as the government decided to sell up to 10 per cent stake in the company to raise about 24,000 crore rupees tomorrow. Coal India scrip plunged 5 per cent to 364 rupees at the Bombay Stock Exchange. On the National Stock Exchange, it lost 5 per cent to 364 rupees. The blue-chip stock was the biggest loser among the front-line scrips on both the Sensex and Nifty. The disinvestment is expected to help government meet half of the 43,425 crore rupees revenue target from stake sale in public sector companies.
News On AIR | January 29, 2015 2:23 PM
Govt to sell up to 10% stake in Coal India