ONGC board yet to decide how to fund HPCL stake buy

To acquire govt's equity in HPCL, it will need to generate another Rs 15,000-17,000 crore

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is yet to take a call on how it will fund the acquisition of public sector refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), but industry experts say the company should not consider selling its stake in Indian Oil until a crisis arises.

A senior ONGC executive told Business Standard that the company’s board would have to take a decision on how to fund the purchase. “The process could take long, as the ONGC board has never discussed the issue of buying the HPCL stake from the government. The Cabinet approval is only in-principle.” 

ONGC had cash