<p><em>By Siddhartha Singh</em></p>.<p>The government plans to sell small stakes in state-run firms including the world’s biggest coal miner and Asia’s largest zinc producer, to ride a stock market boom and boost revenue in the final quarter of the financial year, according to people familiar with the matter.</p>.<p>The government is looking to sell 5 per cent-10 per cent in Coal India Ltd., Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. via the so-called offer-for-sale mechanism, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t yet public. In all, five firms could be chosen, including a listed entity under the railway ministry, they added.</p>.<p>At current prices, sales at the lower end of the range could fetch the government some Rs 16,500 crore ($2 billion), according to <em>Bloomberg</em> calculations. Local stocks are at a record high, supported by a healthy pace of economic growth, and the cash raised will help Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration fund its subsidy bill that has surged partly because of the war in Ukraine. </p>.<p>India had budgeted Rs 65,000 crore from such asset sales in the year through March, but has so far raised just over a third of the target, mainly from the $2.7 billion initial public offering of Life Insurance Corp. in May.</p>.<p>Roadshows have started to gauge investor interest in the stake sales, the people said. A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry couldn’t be reached for comment.</p>.<p>Coal India jumped about 46 per cent in the past year, while Rashtriya Chemicals gained 58 per cent, outstripping the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex’s roughly 6 per cent advance.</p>.<p><em>--With assistance from Ashutosh Joshi.</em></p>
<p><em>By Siddhartha Singh</em></p>.<p>The government plans to sell small stakes in state-run firms including the world’s biggest coal miner and Asia’s largest zinc producer, to ride a stock market boom and boost revenue in the final quarter of the financial year, according to people familiar with the matter.</p>.<p>The government is looking to sell 5 per cent-10 per cent in Coal India Ltd., Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. via the so-called offer-for-sale mechanism, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t yet public. In all, five firms could be chosen, including a listed entity under the railway ministry, they added.</p>.<p>At current prices, sales at the lower end of the range could fetch the government some Rs 16,500 crore ($2 billion), according to <em>Bloomberg</em> calculations. Local stocks are at a record high, supported by a healthy pace of economic growth, and the cash raised will help Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration fund its subsidy bill that has surged partly because of the war in Ukraine. </p>.<p>India had budgeted Rs 65,000 crore from such asset sales in the year through March, but has so far raised just over a third of the target, mainly from the $2.7 billion initial public offering of Life Insurance Corp. in May.</p>.<p>Roadshows have started to gauge investor interest in the stake sales, the people said. A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry couldn’t be reached for comment.</p>.<p>Coal India jumped about 46 per cent in the past year, while Rashtriya Chemicals gained 58 per cent, outstripping the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex’s roughly 6 per cent advance.</p>.<p><em>--With assistance from Ashutosh Joshi.</em></p>
