Friday , November 22 2024

Government ready to sell shares in public sector banks at high valuation

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Mumbai: The government is considering selling minority stake in four public sector banks in the next few months as per Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) norms. In view of the high valuation, the government wants the stake to be sold quickly.

Finance Ministry sources said that the government banks to be sold include Central Bank of India, IOB, UCO Bank and Punjab Sindh Bank.
According to SEBI rules, public stake in listed companies should be at least 25 percent. However, a deadline of August 2026 has been set to reduce the government’s stake in PSUs.

The government holds more than 93 per cent stake in Central Bank of India, 96.40 per cent in IOB, 95.40 per cent in UCO Bank and 98.30 per cent in Punjab and Sindh Bank.

The government is planning to sell its partial stake in these banks in the open market. Sources said that one or two banks out of four will be sold before the end of the current financial year.

The country’s banks, especially government-owned banks, are seeing their equity valuations rise due to good performance which the government wants to take advantage of.