BPCL stake sale may get delayed over falling oil prices, market crash

As confidence on equities declines, large oil producers may hesitate to loosen their purse strings, thereby impacting valuations too

A steep correction in stock markets, as well as in crude oil prices, may not be good news for the government’s plan to divest Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL). The BPCL stock, which had seen a high of Rs 549.70 in November outperforming markets on expectations of value unlocking with the government selling its majority stake and garnering high valuations, however, has continued corrected thereafter.

After initial euphoria, concerns had erupted on what valuations the stock could garner if BPCL’s Numaligarh refinery was not part of stake sale. But the correction in the broader indices, against the backdrop of global slowdown concerns