INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New Delhi: Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's assertion notwithstanding, oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) continues not to
recognise ONGC, its majority owner, as its promoter company.
In a filing to stock exchanges on the company's shareholding pattern as of
the end of September, HPCL continues to list "President of India" as its promoter with "zero" per cent shareholding.
Oil and Natural Gas
Corp (ONGC), which earlier this year bought the government's entire 51.11 per cent stake in HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore, is listed a "public
shareholder", owning "77.88 crores" shares or "51.11 per cent" shareholding of the company.
Calls made to HPCL Chairman and Managing
Director M K Surana for comments went answered.
ONGC, which had to borrow Rs 24,876 crore for the acquisition that helped the government
meet its disinvestment target for the 2017-18 fiscal, had made its displeasure clear about not being recognised as a promoter of HPCL.
In a
strongly worded letter to HPCL, it a couple of months back had warned of regulatory consequences of not recognising the majority shareholder
as the promoter, sources privy to the development said.
HPCL, however, has stuck to its gun and has refused to recognise ONGC as its
promoter.
When the issue first arose in August, Pradhan had clearly stated that ONGC is the new promoter of HPCL.
ONGC, he had said, had
invested in acquiring a majority stake in the company and so it is the promoter
"ONGC is the promoter of HPCL," he had said.
Pradhan's comments followed Surana rejecting ONGC's demand for being recognised as the
"Whatever we are doing, whatever we have done and whatever we will be doing will be as per our understanding of the statute and the
guidelines and Companies Act and the SEBI guidelines Beyond that who is interpreting whatever, it is his understanding of the situation
We need not subscribe to that," he said.
