Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd will go ahead with its follow-on public offer once the market conditions improve, said Mr Praful Patel, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
“We have given an in-principle approval but that does not mean that we have given the timing,” he added on the sidelines of a conference here.
With the stock markets crashing globally, the government will only give the go-ahead to the follow-on public offer once the market stabilises. “BHEL is in no hurry to go in for five per cent disinvestment,” said Mr Patel. Earlier this month, the Rs 11,000-crore FPO of ONGC was also deferred.
As at June end, the government held a 67.72 per cent stake in BHEL. Through the BHEL disinvestment, the government had proposed to garner Rs 40,000 crore.