The government seems to be getting ready for a Diwali blast as it plans to begin its divestment programme around the time of the festival.
The Centre is looking to divest about 15% stake in 5-6 central public sector enterprises. The list includes BSNL, indicating that the government is confident of bringing around the employee unions of the telecom PSU who have been protesting the proposed public issue of shares. If and when the BSNL issue becomes a reality, it could raise up to $10 billion, making it the country?s biggest-ever share sale.
Coal India is another CPSE in which the government is keen to divest its stake. The 15% sell off would be a combination of an offer for sale and an initial public offer (IPO) in line with fresh equity to be issued by the concerned central public sector enterprise, officials said.
An offer for sale would allow the government to piggy back by selling its own stake in the companies and use the proceeds to partly offset the fiscal deficit.
The department of disinvestment is currently working out an optimum formula for each of the concerned CPSEs. The finance ministry is also drafting a Cabinet note, which it hopes, would get approved by September-end.
The actual selloffs are scheduled to begin in November and the first PSUs off the block would be the ones whose initial public offers have already been approved?Oil India Limited, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and Rites. The Centre expects domestic bourses to recover from their current bearish phase by the third quarter of this fiscal.
?We expect the BSE Sensex to reach about 18,000 by then, which we feel would be a good time to begin the stake sale,? a ministry official said.
The Sensex has shed more than 30% this year, falling to its lowest level this year at 12,575.80 on 16 July.
On Tuesday, it closed at 15,212.13. The government also expects domestic economy to improve by the third quarter of the year, which would provide more congenial conditions for public offers.