IOC share sale delayed to next fiscal

A share sale in state-run refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is likely in the next fiscal year, the country's oil secretary S Sundareshan said, a delay of at least a few months from an earlier slated January launch on unfavourable market conditions.

IOC's new chairman SV Narasimhan said last week the share sale, which its former head had said last December aimed to raise USD 4.4 billion, would be delayed due to unfavourable market conditions and rising crude oil prices. The Indian government plans to sell a 10% stake in IOC, while the company will offer an equal number of new shares in the planned offer, which is part of a government plan to sell stakes in about 60 state-run firms to cut high fiscal deficit and garner funds to spend on schemes for the poor. A planned share sale in state-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp is set for launch in mid-March, while a follow-on offer in another state-run firm Steel Authority of India is expected by end-March. IOC, the country's largest refiner, has hired six banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and ICICI Securities to handle the share sale. IOC shares closed 1.6% higher at Rs 333.20 in a Mumbai market that gained 0.4%.