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Ambarish Mukherjee

New Delhi , April 26

The sale of residual stake in Balco to the strategic partner Sterlite Industries will have to wait till the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves the valuation report prepared by SBI Caps.

In its report submitted in January, SBI Caps had estimated the fair business value of Balco to be Rs 1,719.43 crore and the value of residual 49 per cent stake to be Rs 842.52 crore.

"This valuation now needs to be approved by the Committee of Secretaries following which it would be placed before CCEA for its consent. The overall process would take some more time," officials in the Ministry of Mines told Business Line.

Meanwhile, Sterlite has paid a cheque to the Government for buying out the residual stake. Ministry officials said, "We have received a cheque from Sterlite Industries. But it has neither been accepted nor encashed. It is just lying with us."

The deadline for selling off residual stake in Balco expired on March 31 this year. However, the transaction could not be completed within the deadline as questions were raised from within the Government on the valuation.

According to informed sources, some senior ministers in the Cabinet are opposed to the sale of residual stake at the price determined by SBI Caps as they feel the actual price should be much higher. There had also been discussions on whether a second valuation report should be sought from another agency but nothing concrete has emerged out of it, Ministry officials said.

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