India expects to raise $3.6 bn from share sale in four firms: Jayant Sinha

New Delhi: India could raise Rs 22,574 crore ($3.6 billion) from the sale of stakes in four state-run firms including Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and National Aluminium Co Ltd (Nalco), Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said today.[caption id=“attachment_1794473” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha. [/caption] The cabinet has already approved the sale of 5 percent stakes in ONGC and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, and 10 percent each in Nalco and NMDC Ltd, Sinha told lawmakers in a written reply in the Lower House of Parliament. The expected receipts were based on share prices of these companies on 16 March, taking into account a possible discount for retail investors. He did not disclose when the government planned to sell shares in these companies. The government expects to raise Rs 13,220 crore ($2.1 billion) from stake sale in ONGC, lower than earlier estimate of near $3 billion, and about Rs 5,040 crore ($806 million) from NMDC, India’s biggest iron ore producer, Sinha said. In his first full-year budget last month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley set an ambitious target of Rs 69,500 crore ($11.1 billion) from share sales in the fiscal year beginning 1 April. During the current fiscal year, the government had to revise down the stake-sale target in state-run and private companies by more than half against an earlier estimate of about $10 billion. Reuters