An official panel is likely to meet next week to finalise the shareholders agreement for a stake sale in Shipping Corporation of India, the country's largest shipping line, a privatisation ministry official said.

The government is selling a 51 per cent stake in Shipping Corporation as part of its privatisation programme, from which it plans to raise Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) in the year to March 2003.

The shareholders agreement, which lists the terms and conditions for the stake sale, precedes the invitation of final bids.

"The core group of secretaries on divestment is expected to meet either on the 11th or 12th of this month," the Divestment Ministry official, who declined to be identified, told reporters on Wednesday.

But he said it was "highly unlikely" that the privatisation panel, which actually approves stake sales, would meet soon since Parliament was in session.

The panel, called the Cabinet Committee on Divestment, is headed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The government's ambitious privatisation drive hit a roadblock in September when it postponed stake sales in two oil firms, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp, for three months due to opposition from within the government.

The government has admitted it will not meet this year's target for proceeds from stake sales because of the delay in the privatisation of two cash-rich oil firms.

The government owns 80.12 per cent in Shipping Corp and plans to relinquish management control through a sale of 51 per cent of the company's equity to a strategic partner.

It will also sell a three-percent stake to employees, retaining the remaining 26 per cent.

The Divestment Development