State-owned
IFCI froze at a new all-time high on Monday, after the company clarified over a report which claimed that the government is planning to put the NBFC for a strategic sale. IFCI had denied the news. However, the company saw a massive upside in its stock price on Dalal Street.
On Sensex, IFCI stock ended at the upper circuit limit of Rs8.70 per piece up by a whopping 20%. The current market price is also the 52-week high for IFCI.
Stock exchanges had sought clarification from IFCI over a news article appeared in the Economic Times, titled, "State-run non-banking finance company IFCI may be put up for strategic sale"
According to the news item, a senior official said, IFCI has been considered in initial deliberations as part of the exercise to identify and monetise the government's investments in the financial sector. It is low-hanging fruit and can be done more easily rather than pursuing some big-ticket transactions such as banks and insurance companies, which may take time because of other issues such as valuation,” the official said.
IFCI clarified saying, "In this regard, this is to confirm that there is no such information/announcement in the possession of the company which has not been disclosed to the stock exchanges and which could explain the movement in the trading."
"Further, the movement in the share price and trading volume is due to the market forces which is not in the control of the company," IFCI added.
Also, IFCI stated that the company cannot comment upon the material impact or factual correctness of the news item as the company is not aware of any such information.