India power shares jump on debut

Shares in India's largest power producer, National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) have risen 13% on their stock market debut.

The government's partial sell-off of NTPC is part of a controversial programme to privatise state-run firms. The 865 million share offer, a mix of new shares and sales by the government, raised 54bn rupees($1.2bn). It was India's second $1bn stock debut in three months, coming after the flotation by software firm Tata. The share offer was eleven times oversubscribed. "It is a good investment bet," said Suhas Naik, an investment analyst from ING Mutual Fund. "Power needs in India are set to rise and NTPC will benefit from that." Analysts say the success of the NTPC flotation would encourage the government to reduce stakes in more power companies. NTPC has said it will use the money from the share sale to feed the growing needs of the country's energy-starved economy. The firm is the largest utility company in India, and the sixth largest power producer in the world.
