Unfazed by the bloodbath on the Dalal Street as well as in global stock markets, the government is set to go ahead with agenda of disinvestment.
The finance ministry has asked all the ministries concerned to carry on with the due diligence process of disinvestment in public sector enterprises selected for it. North Block is, in fact, hopeful of taking at least on of them to the Cabinet for approval by next month.
?If all preparatory work is finished and regulatory approvals are in place, the actual divestment can take place whenever market conditions improve,? a senior finance ministry official pointed out.
The government is keen to divest 15% stake in five central public sector enterprises, including Coal India Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
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 CPSE.
The finance ministry?s decision comes at a time when the three public sector enterprises ? Oil India Ltd, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and Rites ? all set to make their debut on the stock exchange have decided to postpone it on account of volatility in domestic bourses.
NHPC and OIL, which were planning to come out with initial public offers by mid October or early November and had already filed their draft red herring prospectus with Sebi, have recently decided to revert their plans.
Similarly, the Indian Railways consultancy arm Rites decided to postpone its initial public offering plans to early next year.
The Bombay Stock Exchange bellwether Sensex has shed more than 40% this year. On Thursday it slipped below the 10,000 mark to close at over a two-year low of 9,771.70 points. Experts are of the view that valuations may be hit further.
Freed from the clutches of Left allies in July, the UPA had decided to plod ahead with reforms in key areas, including divesting stake in a few PSUs.
It had been hopeful of starting with the programme by Diwali, by when, it hoped, the markets would recover.