ONGC hires six banks for $3 bln issue

   Indian state-run energy explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has mandated six banks, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citi, for a share sale to raise about $3 billion, IFR said on Monday.
Other banks hired for the offering are HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Indian investment bank JM Financial, it said citing sources.
The Indian government will sell a 5 percent stake in ONGC through the follow-on share offering. The issue is expected to be launched in March.
The share sale will be part of a government plan to sell stakes in about 60 state-run firms over the next few years, as India moves to cut a stubbornly high fiscal deficit and garner funds to spend on schemes for the poor.
The federal government expects to raise about $8.6 billion in the current fiscal year that ends in March through such sales.