HZL stake sale may be delayed; FinMin seeks more time

In a new twist, the finance ministry has sought more time to offer comments and finalise its views on the residual stake sale in Hindustan Zinc. It implies a further delay on a decision and chances are that a final view may be firmed up before the end of this fiscal year.

The ministry of mines had moved a proposal on this to the CCEA a few weeks ago. Government sources told CNBC-TV18 that the finance ministry has written to its mines counterpart and informed them regarding "legal and constitutional complexities" in the proposed stake sale in HZL, which needs to be addressed. Also read: No change in Metal Corp Act for HZL, Balco stake sale: Srcs  The Attorney General of India had earlier said that the sale could happen only if an amendment to the Metal Corporation Act was made. He had also suggested that in the event that the government is keen to offload the stake, it could be done in the open market. HZL was incorporated after the erstwhile Metal Corporation of India Ltd was nationalized through the Metal Corporation (Nationalization and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1976. During 2002-2003, the government had divested about 64.92 percent stake in HZL to the Vedanta group.