SAIL share sale gets govt nod, to bring in Rs 4,000 cr

The government has approved the sale of its 10.82 per cent stake in Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which is likely to bring in more than Rs 4,000 crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has cleared the SAIL public offer and the process is proposed to be conducted through auction route or offer-for-sale.

The proposal, mooted by the department of disinvestment, was deferred in the last meeting of CCEA , as steel minister Beni Prasad Verma and steel secretary D. R. S. Chaudhary were not in town.

The department will decide on the timing of the issue depending upon market conditions.

The government holds 85.82 per cent stake in SAIL.

Due to the poor market conditions, the government has not been able to launch the disinvestment programme for the current fiscal so far although it aims to raise Rs 30,000 crore by selling stakes in the public sector firms.

Few days back, it had put on hold the initial public offer (IPO) of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) due to volatility in markets and lukewarm response of prospective investors in the roadshows held last week.

The RINL IPO, in which the government has proposed to divest its 10 per cent stake, was supposed to kickstart this year's share sale programme of the government.

Hindustan Aeronautics, Bhel, National Aluminium Company, Hindustan Copper and Oil India are some other PSUs which are on government's disinvestment radar this year.

Shares of SAIL were trading flat in the afternoon trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange, up 0.75 per cent at Rs 94.

With inputs from agencies