Indian Cabinet Approved Share Sale In Coal India Worth $3.2 Billion

Indian Cabinet on Wednesday signed an approval regarding the sale of the country's 10% stake to one of the top coal producers present in the country, Coal India Ltd.

This unusual news was broken by Power Minister of India, Piyush Goyal. The government of India currently owns 78.65% shares of Coal India company and the Indian finance minister has previously invited bankers for bidding to handle the offerings as the part of New Delhi's comprehensive investment plan.

The government has not yet announced when the selling of the shares will take place, but some officials have revealed that the falling shares of Coal India mean that the timing is not suitable.

Apart with that, Mr. Goyal also announced that the cabinet has also approved an initial share sale in Cochin Shipyard Ltd. Cochin Shipyard Ltd is considered one of the largest ship manufacturer and maintainer in India.

Coal India shares reversed losses of as much as around 1.4 percent with a rise of 0.8 percent and 335.65 in rupees in Mumbai on Wednesday. The stock, though, has dwindled 13 percent for the present year, as reported by Bloomberg Business.

New Delhi till now has been successful in growing around 127 Billion INR so far during the current financial year by selling the stakes held in Rural Electrification Corp, Power Finance Corporation, Indian Oil and Dredging Corporation Of India Ltd, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Goyal also announced that the cabinet has taken promising steps to meet the infrastructure sector in India resulting in a benefit of 34 road projects.

He says, "Cabinet has allowed road ministry to consider an extension of toll collections. It has approved segregation of civil construction cost from NHAI and Okayed construction of stalled bridge project over river Ganga in Bihar."

According to the reports, the Government has also announced an approval for 4 railway projects in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh requiring around 7500 Crore INR, which will energize the coal, iron, and mineral ore projects, says Money Control.

The cabinet has also approved a 3 percent interest subsidy for SME exporters and has also encouraged affordable bank loans facility for exporters as a step to promote exports of Indian goods.

On November 19, 2015, shares in Coal India closed at around 333.75, down Rs.1.02. The highest of the shares was Rs.447.25 after about 52 weeks and the lowest was 300.75.

The company's trailing 12 months EPS was at Rs.19.07 per share as per the quarter closed in September 2015. The stock price to earning ratio was around 17.5. The latest book value for the company is Rs.29.46 per share. Currently, the price to book value of the company is 12.60 for the current price.