Union Cabinet approves Stake sale in Indian Oil, NTPC

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) The union cabinet on Wednesday approved the sale of a 10 percent stake in Indian Oil Corp and a 5 percent stake in NTPC, a government source said here. The proposed sale of 5 percent stake in NTPC is expected to fetch the exchequer around Rs.5,500 crore, while that of 10 percent stake in IOC would bring in nearly Rs.8000 crore.

As per stock exchange data, the government holds 74.96 percent stake in NTPC and 68.57 percent in IOC. It has an ambitious disinvestment target of Rs.41,000 crore through stake sale in public sector units, and another Rs.28,500 crore through strategic stake sale by transfer of management control, during the current fiscal.

The IOC stake sale, that was put off last year, was taken up by the government after international crude oil prices began to rise and there was more clarity on subsidy sharing. As on Wednesday, the market capitalisation of NTPC stood at Rs.111,313.77 crore while that of IOC was Rs.79,321.21 crore.