Hindustan Copper plunges 18% in early trade

Shares of Hindustan Copper slumped by as much as 18 per cent in early trade on bourses after the government set the floor price for its offer for sale at a steep discount to the current market price. The government had yesterday set a base price at Rs 155 a share for stake sale in Hindustan Copper, a 71 per cent discount to market rate. The offer opens today setting the tone for the government's disinvestment programme of Rs 30,000 crore which it aims to complete in less than five months of the current financial year.

Reacting to the announcement, the shares of the company opened with a weak note at Rs 225.35, then lost further ground and tanked 18.17 per cent to touch an early low of Rs 217.90 on the BSE. A similar movement was seen on the NSE, where the stock opened at Rs 255.00, then fell 18.57 per cent to an early low of Rs 216.70. The government plans to sell up to 9.59 per cent of its 99.59 per cent stake in the company through the offer for sale route. If fully subscribed, the 9.59 per cent stake in HCL can fetch up to Rs 1,376 crore to the cash-pressed exchequer. The share sale would close at 3.30 pm today.