Govt May Auction 5 Percent Stake in ONGC

Bangalore: The government may auction 5 percent stake in Oil and Natural Gas Corp , the nation's biggest energy explorer, to raise about 12,000 crore.

A Group of Ministers (GoM) is likely to meet later this month to take a final call on the issue, an oil ministry official said here.

The government had in November last year put on hold a proposal to sell 5 percent of its stake in ONGC through a public offering.

"Auction involves very little paperwork and the whole process can be done very quickly," he said.

Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) last week announced rules for the sale of shares through auctions to institutional investors.

The government owns 74.14 percent stake in ONGC and plans to sell 427.77 million shares, which will trim its holding to 69.14 percent.