BPCL shares drop over 3% as govt clears way for privatisation of state-owned fuel retailer

New Delhi: Shares of BPCL fell over 3 percent on Monday after the government repealed the legislation that had nationalised the company. On the BSE, the stock declined 3.53 percent to Rs 497. The shares of the PSU fell 3.21 percent to Rs 499 on the NSE. [caption id=“attachment_327966” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Ahead of a proposed move to fully privatise state-owned fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), the government has repealed the legislation that had nationalised the company, doing away with the need to seek Parliament nod before selling it off to private and foreign firms. Keen to get multi-nationals in domestic fuel retailing to boost competition, the government is mulling selling most of its 53.3 percent stake in BPCL to a strategic partner. BPCL offers attractive buy for companies ranging from Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia to French energy giant Total SA which are vying to enter the world’s fastest-growing fuel retail market. It will not only give them 34 million-tonne in refining capacity, but also access to about 25 percent share of India’s fuel marketing.