Finance Ministry may float Cabinet note on PSU ETFs soon

Finance Ministry may float Cabinet note on public sector unit (PSU) ETFs shortly, report CNBC-TV18's Aakanksha Sethi.

CNBC-TV18 learns, from sources, that the top 20 profitable PSUs will be part of this ETF. These include companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil, Power Finance Corporation (PFC), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The price of this ETF will be a function of the weighted average of these top 20 companies that will be included. Only profit making PSUs will be part of this. Now, this Cabinet note has been sent for inter-ministerial confrontation. Within the next two weeks, it is expected to come up for Cabinet approval. The PSU ETF is likely to be launched in the earlier part of the next fiscal. For now, the government is focusing on the companies, which have got Cabinet approval, for meeting its Rs 30,000 crore disinvestment target and NTPC is going to be next on the agenda on January 15. Once the Cabinet approval is through then the amount of money, which they plan to generate, will be worked out. It will also depend on the disinvestment targets for next year.