FinMin likely to issue CPSE Exchange Traded Fund by Dec

New Delhi: Having zeroed in on fund manager, the Finance Ministry is considering to launch second tranche of Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) comprising stocks of 10 PSUs by the end of December.

The second tranche of the ETF may hit the market by the end of the next quarter, sources said.

Besides, a new ETF will be launched after the second tranche of the current ETF is issued, sources said, adding the new ETF will be different in composition from the previous one.

As part of disvestment exercise, the proposed new ETF will serve as an additional mechanism for the government to monetize its share holdings in those CPSEs that eventually form part of the ETF basket.

CPSE ETF, comprising scrips of 10 PSUs, was launched in March 2014, under which retail investors have to invest a minimum of Rs 5,000 to buy units. It had then garnered Rs 3,000 crore to the exchequer.

The 10 PSUs, which are part of the CPSE ETF basket are, ONGC, GAIL India, Coal India, Indian Oil, Oil India, Power Finance Corp, Rural Electrification Corp, Container Corp, Engineers India and Bharat Electronics.

An ETF is a security that tracks an index, a commodity or a basket of assets like an index fund, but trades like a stock on an exchange.

The government aims to collect Rs 56,500 crore through disinvestment in PSUs in the next fiscal, as per the Budget for 2016-17.

Of the total budgeted proceeds, Rs 36,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sale in PSUs, and the remaining Rs 20,500 crore is projected to come from strategic sale in both profit and loss-making companies.

In 2015-16, the Government was able to meet less than half of the disinvestment estimates at Rs 25,312 crore against the target of Rs 69,500 crore.

It had raised around Rs 24,500 crore in 2014-15 by selling stake in public companies, about Rs 16,000 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 23,960 crore in 2012-13.