Govt to miss disinvestment goal
With one-hand-half months to go for the current fiscal, the Finance Ministry today admitted that government will not be able to meet the ambitious disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore for 2011-12.
"Everybody knows that Rs 40,000 crore is now almost impossible. Let the next EGoM take place then I can tell you (how much we can raise this fiscal)," Disinvestment Secretary Mohammad Haleem Khan said.
The government so far has been able to raise only Rs 1,145 crore through stake sale in the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). But due to bad market conditions, the government had to postpone stake sales of other blue-chip state-owned companies.
Although the EGoM, which met under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, met to decide on stake sale of ONGC and BHEL but the meeting remained inconclusive. Even as they decided to use the auction route for stake sale in two companies, they could not decide on any timeline.
There will be one more EGoM to discuss particular company when it is going to come. The EGOM will also decide (on pricing mechanism)," Khan said.
He said the government would use all available options for sale stake in PSUs.
Earlier this month, Sebi has allowed promoters to sell up to 10 per cent stake using the auction window of the stock exchanges.
"The auction method of Sebi guideline, is now available to us. All those cases in which CCEA has cleared disinvestment in FPO mode, they may b using this method. But it will be one to one method," Khan said.
A five per cent stake sale in ONGC is likely to fetch Rs 12,000 crore to the exchequer. Besides BHEL could bring in Rs 5,000 crore by 5 per cent promoter stake auction.
The government has already filed a draft offer document with Sebi for coming out with initial public offer (IPO) of NBCC. This could also help raise about Rs 250 crore this fiscal (2011-12).
Poor receipts from disinvestment will further aggravate the government finances and push the fiscal deficit above the budgeted level of 4.6 per cent of GDP. Experts say the fiscal deficit could even escalate to 5.6 per cent this fiscal, up from 4.7 per cent last year.
Last fiscal the government had raised around Rs 22,500 crore through stake sale in PSUs.
SOURCE: financialtimes.com
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