India Plans Stake Sales in Eight State Firms After Oil-Price Spike from Iran War

India is accelerating plans to sell stakes in eight state-owned companies to raise billions of dollars and cover the costs of a recent oil supply shock, OilPrice.com reported. The government has identified the firms, which include major insurers and banks, for stake sales in the coming months. Sources with knowledge of the plan spoke to Bloomberg on Thursday.

Proceeds from some of the largest sales could reach $1 billion each, such as for the Life Insurance Corporation of India. India imports nearly 90 percent of its oil. Its energy import bill rose sharply in March, April and May after the Iran war disrupted supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

The country paid more than $100 per barrel for alternative supplies not dependent on the strait since February 28. The price spike led economists and India’s central bank to downgrade expected economic growth for the fiscal year through March 2027. A senior Reserve Bank of India official said the economy could return to 7 percent or higher growth in the 2026/2027 fiscal year if oil prices remain near $70 a barrel.

Nagesh Kumar, an external member of the bank’s monetary policy committee, said prices around that level and a pick-up in tanker traffic through the strait would reduce upward pressure on inflation and improve the economic outlook, according to a Bloomberg interview published last week.