New Delhi, August 12: Parliament today passed a Bill allowing the government to reduce its stake in SBI to the bare minimum of 51 per cent.
The stipulation so far has been that the government can dilute its stake up to 55 per cent.
If the government chooses to dilute its stake, from 59.41 per cent to 51 per cent, it can raise around Rs 15,000 crore, going by the prevailing share price of the state-owned lender.
The Rajya Sabha today passed the State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2010, which was earlier approved by the lower house.
However, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated that dilution of the government’s stake would not be rushed, even though both Houses of Parliament have passed the Bill.
“It is just an enabling provision and it does not mean that tomorrow it is going to be implemented,” he said in Parliament.
–Agencies