The government is looking at launching initial public offering (IPO) of Indian Railway Finance Corp Ltd (IRFC) by the end of the year. The issue is likely to fetch about Rs 500-1,000 crore to the government, a finance ministry official said. IRFC raises funds from capital markets for funding expansion plans of the Indian Railways.
The official said that the IPO could be launched any time as and when the COVID situation stabilises and investor demand, especially retail, revives.
"We are optimistic that the IRFC IPO could be launched in October-December quarter," the official said.
IRFC had in January filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for IPO of over 140 crore equity shares.
The Union Cabinet had in April 2017 approved listing of five railway companies. While four of them -- IRCON International Ltd, RITES Ltd, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp -- have already been listed, IRFC is likely to be put on the block by this year-end.
The government has set a target of raising Rs 2.1 lakh crore through divestment in current fiscal. This includes Rs 1.20 lakh crore through CPSE stake sale, and remaining Rs 90,000 crore from financial institutions.
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