The Indian government will sell a 5 percent stake in state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) on Friday, kicking off a disinvestment program that is crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to help cut the budget deficit.
The government, which has 80 percent stake in SAIL, plans to sell up to 206.5 million shares through an auction on the stock exchanges, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
The sale, worth $286 million at the stock's Wednesday close, would mark the first stake sale under the new government, which won a landslide election in May largely on a promise of economic growth.
India, which has targeted to raise about $9.5 billion through share sales by March, is counting on a 5 percent stake sale in Oil and Natural Gas Corp and a 10 percent stake sale in Coal India for the bulk of the proceeds.