"The ministry of mines has out rightly rejected the proposal to off-load five per cent shares in Nalco," sources said.
The finance ministry had written to the ministry of mines seeking its view on how Nalco would benefit if five per cent of the government holding in the company was off-loaded in the market.
For building up the corpus of the National Investment Fund, the finance ministry had also written to the coal ministry seeking its views on selling 15 per cent of the shares held by the government in Neyveli Lignite Corporation.
The coal ministry, however, is yet to take a view on the matter. The government presently holds 93.56 per cent in Neyveli Lignite and its 15 per cent stake is likely to fetch it around Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion).
Earlier, the finance ministry had mooted a proposal to off-load 10 per cent shares in Nalco in the domestic market.
The mines ministry had, however, resisted the move saying that the shares of the Nalco should be listed abroad as the company embarks on the plans to expand outside India.
The listing abroad would give the company an international profile that would be of help when it looks outside India for funds to expand.
The sale of five per cent shares in Nalco would have fetched the government around Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) and reduced its stake in the company to 82.15 per cent.
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