Govt. to sell 10% stake in Indian Oil Corp.

The Indian government has invited bids from banks to appoint merchant bankers for managing its 10% share sale in state-owned fuel retailer Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), Reuters reported. June 26 is the last date for submitting bids, it said.
The stake sale in IOC will be done through a share offer, a government statement said. The Indian government has set up a disinvestment target of Rs400 billion (US$6.9 billion) for the current fiscal year (2013-14), through a stake sale in various public sector undertakings (PSUs), including IOC.
The government has already initiated the stake sale process of some PSUs such as National Fertilizers Ltd. (NHL) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). The government hopes to earn Rs1.72 billion (US$29.7 million) through the NHL stake sale and Rs24 billion (US$414.7 million) through the NHPC stake sale.
The government, which currently holds around a 90% stake in India’s state-owned coal producer Coal India Ltd., is also planning to sell up to a 10% stake in the world’s largest coal producer to raise Rs180 billion (US$3.1 billion).
Last fiscal year, the government, which had a target of Rs300 billion (US$5.1 billion), raised US$4.4 billion by selling equity stakes in several PSUs.