ONGC, IOC, SAIL public issues in Jan-Mar

Public offers of three blue chip companies Steel Authority of India Limited, Indian Oil and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will hit the capital market in the last quarter of the current fiscal, even as the government has shelved the disinvestment plans for MMTC and RINL.

"Disinvestment for SAIL, IOC and ONGC will happen in the last quarter of the current fiscal (January-March 2010-11)", Disinvestment Secretary Sumit Bose told reporters in New Delhi.

The details of the public issue of petroleum major Indian Oil Corporation will be decided shortly, he said, adding the RFQ (Request for Qualification) for appointment of merchant bankers will be issued in the next couple of days.

The government proposes to raise Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from sale of equity in the public sector undertakings in the current fiscal.

"We are hopeful of achieving that target of (Rs 40,000 crore)," Bose said.

On the ability of capital market to absorb three large public issues in one quarter, he said, "there is an enormous appetite in the market."

The government, Bose added, will not go ahead with the public issues of the trading company MMTC and steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited in the current fiscal.

"We will look at (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited) it in the next fiscal", he said. Replying questions on amount and time of the IOC public issue, he said, the modalities would be decided later.

Similarly, he added, the modalities for disinvestment of oil giant ONGC would be finalised in the coming days.