Disinvestment in 5 PSUs may be cleared by CCEA
Keeping in view the challenges faced by finance minister P. Chidambaram in curbing the burgeoning fiscal deficit and bringing the economy back on track, the government is preparing to hit the disinvestment route in a big way to mop up additional resources of around `16,000-18,000 crores in one go.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, scheduled to meet Thursday, is likely to consider selling stakes ranging between five to 12.5 per cent in five state-owned companies, all of them profit-making enterprises.
Sources said the finance ministry’s disinvestment plan was high on the CCEA’s agenda. The government plans to dilute its holdings in five companies — Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL), Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco), Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation Ltd (MMTC).
“Given the existing share prices of all five companies, the government is likely to mop up around `16,000-18,000 crores in one go,” a source said. It had set a target of raising `30,000 crores from disinvestment proceeds in the 2012-13 Budget.
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