Government sells $619 million stake in Larsen & Toubro

Mumbai: India sold a 2.5 percent stake in engineering and construction group Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) on Wednesday, raising more than 40 billion rupees ($619.27 million) that will help the government meet its annual fiscal deficit target.

The stake, held by the state-owned Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), was sold through block deals in stock markets, said Neeraj Gupta, the top bureaucrat looking after government stake sales, confirming earlier media reports.

SUUTI owned a 6.68 percent stake in L&T as of the end of March.

India is aiming to raise 725 billion rupees through the sale of partial government stakes in state-run and private firms during the year to March 2018, which will contribute to meeting the government`s fiscal deficit target of 3.2 percent of gross domestic product.

L&T shares were up 0.6 percent at 0800 GMT, outperforming a 0.4 percent fall in the broader NSE index.