New Delhi: The government on Wednesday said the disinvestment process in steel giant SAIL will start in the current fiscal.

“The first phase of disinvestment will happen in the current fiscal,” steel minister Virbhadra Singh told reporters here after a conference wherein trading firm MSTC presented a dividend of Rs15.31 crore to the minister.

Singh has already approved a proposal for 20% two-phase Follow-on-Public Offer (FPO) of SAIL. The next phase is likely the next fiscal, the minister said.

Giving details of divestment plans, steel secretary PK Rastogi said that the FPO will be a combination of 5% dilution of government’s equity and 5% issue of additional shares by the company.

The government will mobilize around Rs8,000 crore through the FPO at current share prices. The amount may vary depending on the share price of SAIL, he added.

Rastogi further said the proposal has got in-principle approval from the Disinvestment Department of the Finance Ministry and SAIL’s board is now finalizing the proposal.

SAIL would be informing market regulator Sebi about the planned FPO. Once the regulator approval is obtained, the ministry will prepare a note to be sent to the Cabinet for its approval, which is likely by December.

SAIL, which will also raise about Rs8,000 crore through two-phase FPO, will use fund part finance its Rs70,000 crore expansion projects.