Govt sets floor price for SAIL issue at Rs 83, hopes to raise Rs 1,700 crore

The government has set the floor price for the 5 per cent stake sale in Steel Authority of India (SAIL) at Rs 83 per share, through which it hopes to raise up to Rs 1,700 crore (US $275 million), an official said on Thursday.

The government will give a discount of 5 per cent to retail investors in the offering, a senior finance ministry official said on conditions of anonymity as the information is not yet public. He added that the government expected to raise Rs 1,500-1,700 crore from the sale.

The SAIL offering on Friday will kick off the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's ambitious divestment programme, under which it aims to plug the budget deficit by raising about US $9.5 billion through stake sales in public sector undertakings (PSUs) by March 2015.

(Reuters)