Minimum shareholding rule: Some PSUs may issue rights/bonus

PSUs with less than 5-percent public float may have to launch rights issues or issue bonus shares, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting finance ministry sources.

Sources say listed PSUs have to comply with the minimum 10 percent public shareholding by August 8.

The finance ministry is also mulling routes other than OFS through which smaller stakes can be divested

The PSUs which are to launch rights issues and bonus shares include ITDC, STC, NFL amongst others. The PSUs that the ministry plans to divest stake for FY14 via OFS include IOC, CIL, MMTC and Hindustan Copper amongst others.

This comes on the back of economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram's empahsising that listed companies were unlikely to get any respite from the Securities and Exchanges Board of India's (SEBI) June 30 deadline for a minimum public shareholding of 25 percent in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18.