Government approves 12.5 per cent stake sale in RCF

NEW DELHI: The government today approved sale of its 12.5 per cent stake in Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (RCF), which could fetch around Rs 360 crore to the exchequer.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved 12.3 per cent disinvestment in RCF," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said. He was briefing reporters after a meeting of the CCEA.

Government currently holds 92.5 per cent stake in RCF and the paid up capital of the company stood at Rs 551.69 crore.

At the current market price of the Rs 57.80 a share, the 12.5 stake sale could fetch around Rs 360 crore to the exchequer. Shares of RCF were trading at Rs 57.75, up 3.77 per cent in the afternoon trade on the BSE.

The stake sale approval is part of government's decision to raise Rs 30,000 crore through disinvestment in the current fiscal.

So far in 2012-13, the government has raised over Rs 6,900 crore through minority stake sale in PSUs.

The government has already identified 10 companies, including NTPC, Oil India (OIL), MMTC, SAIL, BHEL, for disinvestment. The stake sale of OIL is likely in January followed by NTPC in February.