NHPC share sale opens to 41 lakh bids from retail investors

New Delhi: Government’s 11.36 per cent stake sale in NHPC opened for bidding by retail investors this morning with a subscription of over 41.02 lakh shares in early hours of trade. [caption id=“attachment_2649448” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] However, the NHPC stock slipped below the floor price of Rs 21.75 in a weak market and was trading 1.86 per cent down at Rs 21.15 on BSE. The government is selling over 125.76 crore shares, or 11.36 per cent stake, in NHPC at a floor price of Rs 21.75. Of this, over 100.61 crore shares were offered to institutional investors yesterday. Bidding for the remaining over 25.15 crore shares began this morning. According to the NSE data, subscription for over 41.02 lakh shares came in by 1035 hours. Bidding by retail investors would continue till 1530 hours. A five per cent additional discount is being offered to retail investors, who are classified as those bidding for shares worth up to Rs 2 lakh. At the floor price of Rs 21.75, the sale of over 125.76 crore shares would fetch Rs 2,700 crore to the exchequer. Institutional investors, including FIIs and insurance companies, kick-started the NHPC stake sale yesterday, with the portion offered to them getting over-subscribed by 1.58 times. Total bids worth Rs 3,410 crore came in from these buyers. NHPC is the first disinvestment by the government in the current fiscal, which has set a target of Rs 56,500 crore through selling shares and privatisation of public sector undertakings (PSUs). The government’s share sale will bring down its shareholding in NHPC to 74.6 per cent, from 85.96 per cent. This will help the company comply with the minimum 25 per cent free-float requirement. NHPC, under the administrative control of the Power Ministry, generates power through conventional as well as non-conventional sources.