The Indian government will complete privatization of NMDC Steel Limited within the first half of the fiscal year 2023-24, government sources said on Friday, February 24.
The sources said that the demerger of the 3 million mt per year greenfield steel mill project being constructed by state-run miner NMDC Limited has been completed and shares of the new entity NMDC Steel Limited have been listed on stock exchanges.
Following the demerger, the Indian government’s equity holding in NMDC Steel Limited stands at 60.79 percent, the entire block of which will be divested in favor of private investors through competitive bidding.
The physical construction of the steel mill project has been completed and trial production is scheduled to commence on March 31, and hence risks to the future investor will be minimal, the sources said.
Earlier, the Department of Industries and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had announced that it had ‘received multiple bids’ for the steel mill project.
Though not officially announced, industry sources have speculated that domestic steel majors like JSW Steel Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Limited and Essar Group figure in the list of short-listed bidders.