Govt says to float 20% of Nalco as ADRs

mumbai: the government on monday said it planned to sell a 10 per cent stake in nalco through a domestic issue and 20 per cent through the issue of american depositary receipts. in an advertisement for a global advisor to the privatisation of nalco, india''s second-largest aluminium maker, the government said the issues would be followed by the sale of 29.15 per cent to a strategic partner, after reserving two per cent for employees. the government currently holds 87.15 per cent in nalco and plans to reduce this holding to 26 per cent. the last date for expressions of interest from investment bankers is march 27, the advertisement in the economic times newspaper said. last week, french aluminium maker pechiney said it was keen on a stake in nalco, and analysts expect other global and indian aluminium majors to participate in the bidding. nalco is expanding the capacity of its aluminium smelter at angul in eastern india by 50 per cent to 345,000 tonnes a year. its shares were up 0.72 per cent at 90.90 rupees in early trade while the bombay benchmark was down 0.26 per cent.