INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
State-owned oil refining and marketing major Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) fell 2 per cent on Thursday, a day after the
government approved a divestment plan in the oil marketing company
At 11:45 am, the BPCL stock had slipped from its intraday high of Rs
549 and was trading at Rs
534, lower by 2 per cent on the BSE
Among the other listed divestment candidates, Shipping Corporation has shaved off 4.3 per cent to trade at Rs
65 and Container Corporation of India (Concor) was flat with a positive bias at Rs 580.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced late on
Wednesday that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the sale of government stake in five major central public
sector enterprises (CPSEs): BPCL, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), THDCIL, and NEEPCO.The
Finance Minister also said the government will hand over management control in each of these companies to the strategic buyer.BPCL's
subsidiary, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam, will be hived off to another government oil company due to its geo-strategic
importance.Among the five companies, BPCL is the most lucrative as it has attractive valuations and stable business outlook despite the
government's plan to segregate the Numaligarh refinery, according to analysts.The government had earlier announced plans to sell national
carrier Air India as it attempts to tide over tax shortfalls of around Rs
2 lakh crore and adhere to the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the current year.The government has
set a target of raising Rs
1.05 lakh crore ($14.6 billion) through the sale of state stakes by March 2020.In a related development, Saudi Aramco, which kicked off the
final phase of its $25 billion IPO on Sunday, has been noncommittal on purchasing a stake in BPCL as it is reportedly focusing on purchasing
a 20 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' oil to chemical division.Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around
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