Cos like HAL, NALCO, PFC will get navratna status

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, National Aluminium Co and Power Finance Corp are among the seven public sector firms that would be given the navratna status soon, Minister for Heavy Industries Santosh Mohan Dev said on Friday.

An apex committee had recommended granting of navratna status to HAL, NALCO, PFC, Bharat Electronics Ltd, National Mineral Development Corporation, Power Grid Corporation of India and Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd, he said.

He said these would be granted the status as soon as they induct independent directors on their board.

With these, the number of navratna CPSUs under the Heavy Industry ministry would increase from nine to 16. Oil and Natural Gas Corp, NTPC Ltd, BHEL and Indian Oil are among the nine existing navratna companies.

Read more in The Economic Times article

Jam-packed season on D-Street

Welcome to the Great Indian equity sale. If Chinese initial public offers (IPOs) arrived with a big bang in FY07, Indian IPOs are set to raise the pitch in FY08. A number of companies are slotted to hit the market with large public issues.

While this may ensure that investment bankers get record bonuses this year too, it makes life more difficult for the average investor. The huge overflow of equity can drag down returns in the near term. The current year is expected to see some large issues, with DLF inarguably being the largest one.

Other biggies include ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Holdings (insurance business), Omaxe, Power Grid Corporation and Oil India. The total amount likely to be raised is Rs 60,000-75,000 crore, based on available information. This is thrice the amount raised in FY07.

Read more in The Economic Times article.