The government's thrust on divestment, articulated in the previous budget and reinforced in the current one, has seen investor interest pick up for anything that is brand PSU.
Funds with a public sector unit (PSU) focus launched in 2007 managed to gather Rs.147.53 crore through the Kotak PSU Bank ETF and the PSU Bank Benchmark Exchange Traded Scheme, both passively managed funds.
This amount has gone up manifold in the current financial year with the focus shifting to the more actively variety.
The Sundaram BNP Paribas PSU Opportunities fund alone managed to draw in more than twice the previous amount through it new fund offer at Rs.311.52 crore.
The Religare PSU Equity fund absorbed Rs.229 crore.
Debt funds too joined the fray with the Baroda Pioneer PSU Bond and the ICICI Prudential Banking and PSU Debt fund raked in an additional Rs.39.28 crore.
The government has already divested stake in companies like Oil India, NHPC, NTPC and Rural Electrification Corporation so far this year while the process is on for National Mineral Development Corporation and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam. It will raise about Rs.25,000 crore through the divestment route in this fiscal.
Further it plans to raise Rs. 40,000 crore next year by divesting its stake in Coal India, SAIL, MMTC among others.
Meanwhile, Tata Mutual Fund has also filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for a PSU fund.
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