New Delhi: India plans to sell as much as 1.5% stake in state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp., via an offer for sale starting Wednesday, according to an exchange filing.
The floor price for the offer is set at Rs 159 apiece. The government aims to raise Rs 30 billion ($397 million) from the share sale, which is for two days beginning Wednesday for non-retail investors and Thursday for retail.
The divestment, before the close of the financial year on March 31, comes after the government deferred an initial public offer for the country’s largest insurer Life Insurance Corp. to next year due to market volatility.
In its Feb. 1 budget, the government slashed its asset sale target to 780 billion rupees from 1.75 trillion rupees budgeted earlier. It has, however, raised only 124 billion rupees so far.
ONGC shares fell 3% at the close to Rs 171 in Mumbai on Tuesday. –Bloomberg
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