India picks banks for $ 925 m Axis Bank stake sale

Friday, 24 January 2014 06:50 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: India has chosen JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc and JM Financial Ltd. to help sell half of the Government’s stake in Axis Bank Ltd. valued at $925 million, said three people involved in the process. The sale is part of a search for funds to narrow the Government’s fiscal deficit to 4.8% of gross domestic product in the financial year ending March 2014 from 4.9% a year earlier. The Government aims to raise around $9 billion by selling shares but has managed just 3% of that amount. Half of its 20.7% stake in India’s third-largest private-sector bank by assets is likely to be auctioned by the end of February, said the people, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. At the bank’s current market price, the stake on offer is worth about 57 billion rupees, the people said. A spokesman for Citigroup in Mumbai declined to comment, whereas JPMorgan and local brokerage JM Financial did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The spokesman at the Finance Ministry was not available for comment. Slower-than-budgeted tax receipts and high public expenditure have increased the Government’s reliance on selling shares to narrow a budget shortfall in an economy growing at its slowest pace in a decade. On Monday, the Government approved the auction of its residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd., controlled by London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc. It has also lined up a 10% stake sale in Indian Oil Corp. The Government, through the Special Undertaking of Unit Trust of India, also owns shares of cigarette maker ITC and engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd. The fiscal deficit by November had reached nearly 94% of the Government’s full-year target, piling pressure on the Finance Ministry to find alternative sources of revenue. By fiscal-year end, it will receive a dividend of roughly $3 billion from state-run miner Coal India Ltd.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.