If market buzz is to be believed, the Government is preparing to carry out strategic sales of equity in Container Corporation of India (Concor: about 30 per cent), BPCL (at least 51 per cent if not the entire 53.29 per cent), Shipping Corporation of India (63.75 per cent), North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (100 per cent) and THDC (75 per cent). Now the government could choose to take the public issue route, as it did with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC), to divest its stake (Concor, BPCL and SCI are already listed). However, rather than an IPO, it is widely expected to opt for a strategic stake sale, for reasons elaborated later in this piece.
