Govt eyes ~4,000 cr through additional Bharat-22 ETF sale

The government will on Thursday launch yet another offering of its flagship exchange-traded fund (ETF) — Bharat-22 — to meet the divestment target of ~80,000 crore. The additional sale is expected to raise around ~4,000 crore, sources said.

This comes alongside a sale of the Centre’s stake in

Axis Bank, and buybacks from a number of state-owned companies.

There could also be offers-for-sale (OFSs) for a number of big state-owned companies, including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India, and initial public offerings of companies like Mazagon Dock and MSTC.

The additional sale of Bharat-22 units would be for a single day and will be open for institutional and retail investors. This will be the second issuance of Bharat- 22 ETF this fiscal year, and third overall.

The government has so far raised ~22,900 crore through the ETF. While ~14,500 crore was raised in November 2017, another ~8,400 crore was raised in June 2018.

Business Standard had reported in November that the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) will go for another offering of Bharat-22 this year.

As of Januaryend, the government has mopped up ~35,533 crore in disinvestment for 2018-19. It has yet to factor in around ~15,000 crore that it will get from Power Finance Corp’s acquisition of the Centre’s stake in REC.

Additionally, Axis Bank posted on the exchanges on Monday that the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) will sell a 3 per cent stake in the bank, which could garner the exchequer around ~5,000 crore.

There could also be offers-for-sale for a number of state-owned companies and initial public offerings of companies