The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) plans to garner Rs 1,200 crore via an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The objective of this IPO is to carry out the Centre’s divestment plan in this entity, of 2 crore equity shares. HUDCO offers housing and urban finance under one roof. However, the entity’s main thrust has been housing finance, followed by infrastructure financing. This will be the first IPO of a government company since the disinvestment process started last year. The IPO comes at an opportune time, as the BSE Sensex has touched the 30,000-level. The offering opens on 8th May. Speaking on the occasion to declare the IPO, Dr M Ravi Kanth, CMD, HUDCO said that since the company has a pan-India presence, it is “actively participating” in urban development projects. “We are a profit-making and AAA-rated company, with consistent growth. We have withstood all the ups and downs in the housing sector. Through this IPO, we plan to divest 10.193 per cent in the company. As of now, 89.93 per cent of HUDCO’s loan advances are to state government projects, followed by 31 per cent of housing loans,” said Dr Kanth. According to the CMD, the company’s current outstanding loan portfolio is Rs 36,385 crore, of which Rs 11,228 crore has been lent to housing finance and Rs 25,157 crore to urban infrastructure. “We have sanctioned Rs 30,000 crore in the last financial year, of which 61 per cent (was) to housing and 39 per cent to urban infra,” he added.