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Bloomberg
India plans to sell small stakes in state-run firms including the world’s biggest coal miner and Asia’s largest zinc producer, to ride a stock market boom and boost revenue in the final quarter of the financial year, according to people familiar with the matter.
The government is looking to sell 5%-10% in Coal India Ltd, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd via the so-called offer-for-sale mechanism, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t yet public. In all, five firms could be chosen, including a listed entity under the railway ministry, they added.
At current prices, sales at the lower end of the range could fetch the government some 165 billion rupees
($2 billion), according to Bloomberg calculations.
Local stocks are at a record high, supported by a healthy pace of economic growth, and the cash raised will help Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration fund its subsidy bill that has surged partly because of the war in Ukraine.