After the IPCL sale goes through, the privatisation prospects of Shipping Corporation will improve

Amish Vora Prabhudas Lilladher

"The meeting is expected to be held on Saturday before the prime minister leaves for a holiday," the Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed Disinvestment Ministry official as saying.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who heads the cabinet panel on privatisation, is expected go on vacation on 20 May.

An announcement had been expected earlier in the week to coincide with the sale of a controlling stake in India's largest automaker Maruti to the Japanese firm Suzuki.

India hopes to raise 120bn rupees (�1.67bn) from sales of state-owned firms in the current financial year to plug a gaping hole in its budget.

Further privatisations

The government, which owns 60% of IPCL, is selling a 26% stake and management control.

Bidding for IPCL are state-owned Indian Oil, the country's largest refiner, Reliance Industries, the largest petrochemicals maker, and Nirma, a detergents and chemicals maker.

"After the IPCL sale goes through, the privatisation prospects of Shipping Corporation will improve," said Amish Vora of brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher.

The privatisation panel is also expected to choose an adviser for the sale of National Aluminium Company (NALCO), the country's second-largest aluminium firm, and call for bids for Shipping Corporation and National Fertilisers.

The Indian government holds just over 87% of NALCO but plans to reduce its stake to 26%.

Financial markets, after being disappointed by the delay of the IPCL privatisation on 14 May, pushed its shares up 8.8% on Thursday and another 4% on Friday to 139.9 rupees in anticipation of Saturday's announcement.