The government will sell 5 per cent through OFS, with an option to retain another 5 per cent in case of over-subscription. It has so far this fiscal raised over Rs 8,800 crore through disinvestment in six companies.
New Delhi : The government will sell 5 per cent stake in the country’s largest power producer NTPC at Rs 168 per share to raise about Rs 7,000 crore. The share sale through an offer for sale (OFS) will happen over two days beginning Tuesday, an official said here. NTPC shares closed 2.5 per cent higher on the BSE at Rs 173.55 apiece Tuesday.
The official said the government will sell 5 per cent through OFS, with an option to retain another 5 per cent in case of over-subscription. The floor price of Rs 168 is at a discount of 3 per cent over today’s closing stock price. The government has so far this fiscal raised over Rs 8,800 crore through disinvestment in six companies, including selling stake in L&T through Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), and one share buyback. This is against Rs 72,500 crore targeted to be raised in 2017-18 through stake sale in PSUs. This includes Rs 46,500 crore from minority stake sale, Rs 15,000 crore from strategic disinvestment and Rs 11,000 crore from the listing of PSU insurance companies..various frequency bands. Even at the end of the auction, nearly 60 per cent of the spectrum remained unsold (in all, 2,354.55 MHz was placed on the block) and spectrum worth Rs 4 lakh crore in 700 Mhz band found no takers. The telecom industry has been reeling off its poor financial health, falling revenue and profitability demanding that the auctions should be held late next year or early 2019. Last date for comments on this paper is September 25 and that of counter-comments is October 3, 2017.
