By IANS,
New Delhi : The state-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is yet to take a decision on its proposed initial public offer, telecom minister Thiru A. Raja said here Thursday.
Raja said if BSNL entered the primary market, each employee would be offered 500 shares at Rs.10 per share. For others, a premium will be charged, with the shares being in the price band of Rs.300-400 per share – depending on the market condition.
This would be done keeping in mind that the company got a 3G spectrum block Thursday.
Besides this, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has granted Rs.20 billion to the telecom major, the amount it lost after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India scrapped the Access Deficit Charge – a percentage of revenues of private companies that went to BSNL.
At Rs.300-400, BSNL’s market capitalisation would be around $100 billion and a 10 percent stake dilution, if approved by the finance ministry, would mean the government would get richer by $10 billion.
BSNL officials said the public offer could be made in the next six months.
“Internal discussions are on, and a decision will be taken soon,” BSNL chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal told reporters after a meeting with Raja.