State-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is ready with the prospectus for its Rs 8,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO), but the timing of the issue to hit the capital market will depend upon the market conditions.
"We are ready. The issue will come as market conditions improve. We can go for it even this year, if the market is stable. Otherwise, we would not go for it," Steel Secretary P K Mishra told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci-organised seminar here.
Echoing his view, SAIL Chairman C S Verma said though the time available in the current fiscal was very short, but a decision on timing of the issue would be taken after making an assessment of the market conditions.
"One and a half months are still there before the end of the current fiscal. We are ready with red herring prospectus, but not yet filed. It will depend upon market condition," Verma said.
Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, however, added that the FPO could wait for the next fiscal as time left in the current financial year was very limited.
"No, no. We will wait. There is very less time left in this fiscal. We are looking at market conditions," the minister said when asked whether the issue would hit the market in the current fiscal during a volatile period in the bourses.
The much-awaited SAIL FPO was earlier slated to hit the capital market in mid-February.
However, an unwarranted conflict with the Book Running Led Managers (BRLMs) delayed the issue.
Subsequently, volatility in the market in the wake of crisis in Egypt and a run-away inflation coupled with probe into spectrum scandal sent the domestic market topsy-turvy, putting a question mark on the SAIL FPO.
However, the SAIL FPO is very crucial for government's Rs 40,000 crore fund-raising plan through disinvestment of the state-own firms.
In the current fiscal so far, it has garnered around Rs 23,000 crore through share sales of Coal India, Engineers India, MOIL and others.
