The Indian government has approved the disinvestment of its equity stake in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), which operates a 1.1 million mt steel mill in the eastern state of Odisha, a government official said on Friday, January 17.
The official said that the government holding in NINL would be transferred to private investors through a two-stake auction, which would also entail transfer of management control to the successful bidder for the government-run steelmaking company.
Currently, the equity in NINL is held by various government entities like trading firm MMTC Limited (49.78 percent), iron ore miner NMDC Limited (10.10 percent), steel engineering consultant Mecon (0.68 percent), a capital goods manufacturer (0.68 percent), the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) (12 percent), and Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) (20.47 percent).
NINL is one of the largest domestic producers and exporters of pig iron, with a product portfolio that also includes billet, rebar, LAM coke and crude tar.