Power Finance Corporation, a government-owned development financial institution, is likely to enter the capital market this year for enhancing its equity by up to 15 per cent.
"We are waiting for the ministry of finance's nod. As far as the ministry of power is concerned they have given in-principle clearance for the public issue through Initial Public Offer," PFC chairman and managing director A A Khan said in New Delhi.
PFC has proposed to return upto 60 per cent of government equity at par. The corporation has an equity base of Rs 1030 crore (Rs 10.30 billion).
Meanwhile, PFC reported a jump in its net profit for the year 2002-03 at Rs 1067 crore (Rs 10.67 billion) compared to Rs 778 crore (Rs 7.78 billion) achieved in the previous financial year.
During the last fiscal, PFC sanctioned all time high loans of Rs 14,001 crore (Rs 140 billion) against a target of Rs 7,500 crore (Rs 750 billion), an increase of 86.7 per cent. During the year 2001-02, PFC had sanctioned a loan of Rs 8,506 core (Rs 85.06 billion).
"In the last fiscal, we revised our lending rates downward by five times and remained most competitive in the sector," Khan said, adding massive reduction in interest outgo due to cheap finance availability and repayment of costly debts helped in achieving higher net profits during the year.