Shourie downplays BSE overcounting

Govt went by advisers' numbers, not on data from SEs.

Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said as per the estimates given by the financial advisers to the ONGC issue, the offer had been oversubscribed 4.07 times at Rs 680 per share and 3.02 times at Rs 750 per share till yesterday afternoon.

Dismissing the Congress accusation that the government used the "inflated" figures to attract more subscriptions to these offers, Shourie said, on the contrary, very high subscriptions often deterred investors.

"The response of retail investors to the issues has not been that enthusiastic probably because of financial year-ending compulsions," he said.

The minister also felt that the controversy over the extent of subscriptions would not affect the ONGC public offer, which closes tomorrow.

The only thing that mattered was the quality of the issues, he said, adding that they were "a golden opportunity to attract high quality investment from abroad".

It was obvious why the ONGC issue was sold out in less than an hour on the first day itself, he said.

Shourie said the Bombay Stock Exchange overcounted only some of the bids received. "I am sure the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the BSE will want to take a look at the software used for counting the subscriptions," he added.

The minister accused the Congress of trying to make a mountain out of a molehill due to electoral compulsions.

"Only fools will say that the huge response to the public sector issues was not a great achievement. It was a vote of confidence in India," he said.