Govt mulls selling stake in PFC to REC

The government is considering selling its 65.61 per cent stake in state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), which could fetch the exchequer about Rs 13,000 crore.

"The discussions are at a preliminary stage. The government sees a lot of synergy between the two NBFCs funding power sector projects," an official said.

At the end of 2017-18 financial year, the total resources of REC stood at over Rs 2.46 lakh crore, of which 'Reserves and Surplus' stood at Rs 33,515.59 crore.

The net worth of the company stood at Rs 35,490 crore and 'cash and bank balance' was at Rs 1,773 crore at the end of March 2018.

Stock of REC was trading at Rs 98.90, down 7.35 per cent, while PFC scrip was trading at Rs 79.60, 1.18 per cent lower over previous close on the BSE. At the current market price, the government may get around Rs 13,000 crore from stake sale in PFC.

The REC-PFC deal is being considered on the lines of acquisition of government's entire 51.11 per cent stake in oil refiner HPCL by stateowned ONGC in 2017-18. The government got Rs 36,915 crore from the stake sale.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in Budget 2017-18 said there are opportunities to strengthen CPSEs through consolidation, mergers and acquisitions.

"By these methods, CPSEs can be integrated across the value chain of an industry. It will give them capacity to bear higher risks, avail economies of scale, take higher investment decisions and create more value for the stakeholders," he had said.