P Chidambaram, the newly appointed finance minister, is planning to revive share sales of listed PSUs, primarily those in which public holding is less than 25 per cent, hoping to send out a strong signal of his intent to improve government finances and boost investor sentiment.
Companies whose shares could be sold include steelmaker SAIL, India's largest power generator NTPC, and mining companies Coal India and NMDC. An official familiar with the minister's thinking said he was of the view that partial privatisation, referred to as disinvestment, could boost markets. |