The government, on Wednesday, deferred the 12.5 per cent stake sale in Nalco, saying the company’s second quarter financial performance was not reflective of the true financial position of the aluminium major.
“Nalco disinvestment will happen next quarter (January-March quarter). It is deferred for now. There is need to strengthen the financial performance of the company further,” Mines Minister Dinshaw Patel said.
He was talking to reporters after a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) here.
Further discussion on Nalco disinvestment would happen again between January 7 and 15, he said. This is the second postponment in a row. Last month, the government had to defer the public issue of RINL as the Steel Ministry felt that the issue price suggested by merchant bankers was less than the book value.
“The second quarter results are not representative of the company’s valuation. In October, there is a little visible improvement. So, we decided that it will be good to do it in the third quarter,” Disinvestment Secretary Mohammad Haleem Khan said.
