IPOs: Preferred route of disinvestment

Hinting that the preferred route of disinvestment will be offloading of shares to the public, President Prtaibha Devisingh Patil today said the government will draw out a roadmap in this regard while ensuring that government equity does not fall below 51 per cent.

"Our fellow citizens have every right to own part of the shares of public sector companies while the government retains majority shareholding and control", Ms Patil said in her address to the joint session of Parliament.

"My government will develop a roadmap for listing of people-ownership of public sector undertakings while ensuring that government equity does not fall below 51 per cent," she said.

There are different modes by which government equity in PSUs can be divested. One of these--outright strategic sale to a bidder-- adopted by the NDA government had raised a hue and cry in various quarters.

The most popular route world wide is sale to the public, which apart from propping up the stock markets and augmenting resources of state-owned companies, ensures wide dispersal of shareholding.