Mumbai: Overseas investors have shown strong interest in the partial divestment of Government stake in ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corp) through public offer, one of the biggest issues slated to hit the market on March 5, the Union Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said today (Mar 1, 2004).

The feedback from pre-bid conferences has been encouraging and he was optimistic about the response to the offering, Shourie told reporters in Mumbai after an interaction with the merchant bankers associated with ONGC offer.

The Merchant bankers would conduct issue conferences in 23 cities including some abroad and some in the country. ONGC Chairman Subir Raha is likely to attend the road-show at Singapore, the Minister said.

Asked if any regulatory issue was left out to facilitate the bidding process, he said, "The concerns are over".

"The response to other issues, including sale of residual holding in CMC, IPCL and IBP has been encouraging," he added.

The Government is aiming to raise about Rs 10,000 crore through the sale of 14.25 crore shares in ONGC, the oil and gas exploration company.

DSP Merill Lynch, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company and JM Morgan Stanley Pvt Ltd are book running lead managers for the ONGC issue.