To take up the assignment of sale of five per cent stake in Coal India, the Union government has selected seven major banks. They are: Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Indian investment banks-SBI Capital, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Capital. The government wants to raise $1.2 billion through the stake sale in CIL.
To plug the the yawning current account deficit (CAD) the Union government has planned a programme of divestment to raise Rs 400 billion ($5.87 billion) in this fiscal ending next March. India, which is also battling growing fiscal pressures and a slowing economy, may launch the sale in October. The government has already raised $3.4 billion through an initial public offering of 10 per cent of Coal India in 2010. If the latest proposed sale goes through, its stake will fall to 85 per cent.