The government's offer-for-sale (OFS) for 3 per cent stake in Coal India had a smooth start on Thursday, with institutional buyers putting in bids for 30 per cent of the shares reserved for them in morning trade.

In the two-day OFS, the government is selling over 18.48 crore shares or 3 per cent in the PSU coal producer at a floor price of Rs 225 a share. The sale includes a green shoe option of 1.5 per cent in case of over subscription.

Of this, over 8.31 crore shares are being offered to institutional bidders on Thursday.

As of 1125 hours, institutional bidders put bids for over 2.42 crore shares at an indicative price of Rs 225.08 a piece, as per BSE data. Bidding will go on till close of market hours on Thursday.

Bidding for retail investors will begin on Friday.

In the secondary market, shares of Coal India are trading at Rs 230.40, down 4.48 per cent over Wednesday closing.

Coal India will be the first Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) stake sale in the current fiscal.

If fully subscribed, a 3 per cent stake would fetch over Rs 4,000 crore for the government.

The floor price of Rs 225 was set at a 6.7 per cent discount over Wednesday's closing price of CIL.

The government currently holds 66.13 per cent in CIL.

Stake sale in Coal India will help the government inch towards the Rs 51,000-crore disinvestment target set for the current fiscal.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.