Coal India share sale garners just Rs 42 bn, much less than govt's target

Institutional demand less than a third of the total issue size of Rs 148-bn

The Coal India share sale on Wednesday garnered bids worth only Rs 42 billion, less than a third of what the government had targeted. The centre was looking to divest shares worth over Rs 148 billion in the coal miner as a part of its ambitious Rs 800-billion disinvestment programme for 2018-19.

The tepid demand for shares of Coal India would make it challenging for the government to achieve the disinvestment target, said market players.

The core issue for the Coal India share sale was set at Rs 50 billion, while another Rs 99 billion was green shoe—a term used