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NFL sell-off only after January: Minister

The privatisation of state-run National Fertiliser Ltd will only take place after January next year, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Tapan Sikdar said on Monday.

The government, which owns 97.64 per cent stake in NFL, plans to sell 51 per cent stake to a strategic investor along with transfer of management control.

"Nothing will happen till the new fertiliser policy is announced. The policy will be announced in two-three months, before the Budget," Sikdar told Reuters when asked about the deadline for NFL's privatisation.

India's Budget is placed before Parliament on February 28.

The country's divestment ministry said on its Web site that expressions of interest have been received from companies keen on picking up a stake in NFL, but did not give details.

NFL is engaged in the production and sale of nitrogenous fertilisers including urea and calcium ammonium nitrate.

Last month, Fertiliser Minister S S Dhindsa said he had written to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee asking him to defer the sale of government equity in NFL, saying that profit-making state firms should not be privatised.

"No one is against divestment per se. The only differences are about how to go about it. This is pretty normal in a coalition (government) arrangement," Sikdar said.

Analysts have cast doubts on the government's ability to push through the privatisation process after New Delhi deferred stake sales in oil refiners Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp because of differences in the Cabinet.

India has targeted Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) through stake sales for the year ending March 2003 but the government has said it would fall short of the target.

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