Mr BK Handique Mines Minister said the follow on public offer of state run Hindustan Copper would hit the market at an appropriate time.

The minister told reporters after a meeting of with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Alhuwalia that "We will definitely, at the best of time, go for it.”

Sources in the mines ministry, however, said the government would like to wait and watch on the market development and was in no hurry to come out with the FPO and as such, this could happen in early next fiscal.

Earlier during the day, Mr Sumit Bose disinvestment secretary indicated that HCL FPO might come this fiscal. The Cabinet had in June last year approved disinvestment of 10% paid up equity capital out of the government's shareholding in HCL along with issue of fresh equity of equal size by the company.

Accordingly, in July the Copper miner had appointed UBS Securities, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital, Kotak Mahindra and Enam Securities as the managers of the issue and filed the draft prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in September.

(Sourced from PTI)