The government of West Bengal has decided not to sell its stake in Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. (HPL), Economic Times reported. Earlier the state government, led by Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee, had decided to sell its 39.99% share in HPL through an auction. To this, several companies, including Reliance Industries, Gail, ONGC, IOC and Cairn India filed expressions of interest. Eventually, however, only the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) bid for the stake. Meanwhile, the second promoter of HPL, Purnendu Chatterjee led The Chatterjee Group (TCC), objected to the inclusion of 155 mln shares in the state government’s auction, claiming to be belonging to TCC. As a result, the entire auction process got delayed and the state government has now terminated the decision to sell its stake. Interestingly, HPL managing director UK Bose, whose tenure was to expire on June 30, 2014, has been given a six-month extension by the HPL Board. In the first quarter of 2014, HPL is expected to post a loss of Rs. 750 mln.
24-Jun-14 
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