FDI cap on refineries may be raised to 49 percent

By IANS

New Delhi : The government may raise the limit on foreign direct investment in state-owned refineries to 49 percent next week.


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The decision follows the acquisition of 49 percent stake by London-based steel baron L.N. Mittal in a refinery being constructed by the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited at Bhatinda, Punjab.

“The cabinet is likely to take up the issue next week,” Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan told reporters Monday.

Mittal’s stake is the largest ever foreign investment in a government refinery. So far, the FDI limit on state refineries was 26 percent, but 100 percent in private refineries.

At the time of approving Mittal’s stake in the Bhatinda refinery, the government had said that the move was a one-off deal.

The move is expected to help oil majors in India, who run refineries and market petroleum products, offset their losses due to selling fuel products at subsidised rates.

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