Defer IPO by a year: BSNL to Govt

BSNL has sought a minimum time of one year before any decision on offloading a small stake of the government in the PSU could be considered.

The response comes in the wake of the ministry of finance asking BSNL for its view on listing the company by selling some government shares to the public. The PSU, after consulting its advisor ICICI Securities, said the IPO should be delayed by one year to ensure conformity of accounts with the listing requirements. BSNL also said in its response that it does not need to raise any fresh capital.

BSNL officials clarified that these were just BSNL's response to queries posed to them, and any final call on the mode of disinvestment has to be made by the government.

BSNL has been valued by various estimates at about $25 billion (above Rs 1 lakh crore), and a 10% stake sale could fetch the government between Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 crore.