Everytime divestment comes up, concerns are raised about privatisation of public sector firms, but despite setting big targets, the government had to stall its stake sale in several major firms. After selling debt-laden Air India following a long struggle and giving up on BPCL's privatisation, the Indian government only raised Rs 31,000 crore from stake sales, far from its target of Rs 65,000 crore target in FY23.
It then lowered the target to Rs 50,000 crore for FY24, and is now selling a 3 per cent stake in state-owned Coal India, through and offer for sale.
Moving towards divestment target one PSU at a time
The aim is to sell 9.24 crore shares which make up a 1.5 per cent stake in Coal India, and another 1.5 per cent will be released in case of oversubscription.
The OFS will be open for two days, as non-retail investors can bid from June 1, 2023, while retail investors will be allowed to buy on June 2.
Floor price for each share of the firm, in which the government holds a 66 per cent stake, has been set at Rs 225 with a 7 per cent discount on its last trading price.
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