'October auspicious for CIL IPO'

Euphoric about India's biggest IPO, possibly to garner up to Rs 15,000 crore, from the world's largest coal producer CIL, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Friday said October is an "auspicious" month to launch the issue.

Coinciding the IPO of Kolkata-headquared Coal India Ltd with festive Pooja season, the biggest celeberation in West Bengal, the finance and coal ministries are understood to have favoured launching of the issue around October 20.

"October is an auspicious month for the Coal India IPO. Earlier, we were trying for September-end. But because we have Durga Pooja in October, officials proposed to have it in October itself," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told PTI.

The 10-day Durga Pooja is considered to be an auspicious time for the people of West Bengal. The government's move to time the initial public offer in the third week of October may help it in raising the targeted sum from the IPO which is billed as the biggest ever, and likely to generate a sum of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion).

The CIL initial public offer will open on October 18 and closes on October 21, an official said. The government is disinvesting 10 per cent of its stake in Coal India (CIL), the world's largest coal miner, through the IPO.

"The 10 per cent disinvestment will see the government raising Rs 12,000-15,000 crore," the official had said. The government currently holds 100 per cent equity in CIL.

Although CIL's IPO was planned for August-September, it was delayed due to opposition to the government's 10 per cent stake sale move from trade unions and political parties.

The PSU will now file the Draft Red Herring Prospectus for the IPO to market regulator SEBI by the first week of August, the official added.

The Union Cabinet had last month approved to disinvest 10 per cent of the government's holding in CIL.

The Centre holds 100 per cent equity in the company. Coal India produced 431.5 million tonnes of coal in the last fiscal. The country's coal output stood at 531.5 million tonnes in 2009-10. The biggest IPO in India till date is Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm Reliance Power's in January 2008.

The company raised Rs 11,500 crore (Rs 115 billion) through its IPO. The government aims to raise raise Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) through disinvestment in this fiscal.

It has so far garnered a little over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) through selloff in SJVNL. The government in 2009-10 had raised Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) through stake sales in Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC. NMDC 8.38 per cent stake sale had fetched the government about Rs 10,000 crore.