The initial public offering (IPO) of state-owned steel maker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) may take place by October, with the government likely to sell a 10 per cent stake in the company.
"The IPO is likely to hit by September-October this year. The Department of Disinvestment will kick-start the process of listing in next two weeks," a Steel Ministry official said.
RINL, which produces 2.9 million tonnes of steel annually, is on the verge of completing a Rs 12,300 crore expansion programme, which will increase its capacity to 6.3 million tonnes a year. There are plans to raise it further to 20 million tonnes a year by 2025-26.
The RINL share sale had to be deferred thrice in the past two years due to differences over pricing among merchant bankers and an accident at its sole facility at Vizag in which 19 people were killed.
The listing of RINL is also necessary to maintain its navratna status, which gives the company some operational and functional autonomy.
The navratna status was granted on November 16, 2010, on condition that it would get listed on the stock markets within two years, a deadline that has since been extended.
RINL had a net worth of Rs 12,477 crore and an equity of Rs 6,347 crore in 2012-13. It clocked an 8 per cent growth in sales to Rs 13,527 crore in 2013-14.
Sources said the DoD would soon float a tender inviting expressions of interest from merchant bankers to manage the issue.
