⁍ Russia’s Rosneft had expressed interest in buying the federal government 53.29% stake in Bharat Petroleum (BPCL)
The Indian government had aimed to raise $8 to $10 billion through the sale of its stake in BPCL.

---

⁍ BPCL’s share price has plunged nearly 30% over the past year to trade at around 386 rupees a piece on Tuesday.

---

– India plans to sell a majority stake in Bharat Petroleum Corp. to raise up to $10 billion to fund its welfare programs, but sources tell Reuters that Saudi Aramco and Russia’s Rosneft are unlikely to bid because of the crash in the price of oil. Both companies had expressed interest in buying the Indian refiner, but sources say Rosneft would only be interested in its marketing business, which includes more than 16,800 fuel stations. “For this, India has to sell BPCL in parts,” one source says. BPCL’s share price has plunged nearly 30% over the past year to trade at around 386 rupees a piece on Tuesday. “This is not the time to invest in refining … demand would be there for oil to chemicals and not conventional products,” one source says. India’s trade minister had said Aramco was enthusiastic about the stake sale opportunity. However, sources say neither Rosneft nor Aramco see much value in refining as the government in the Indian state of Kerala, home to BPCL’s biggest refinery, might challenge the privatization in court and BPCL’s two other refineries are in cities, leaving little scope for revamp and expansion. India’s finance ministry also did not respond to a request for comment.