The government is keen on unlocking the value of public sector enterprises (PSEs) and encouraging them to raise resources by listing on the bourses, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday.

“Our government is encouraging the listing of PSEs on the stock markets,” he said at a function organised by the Standing Conference of Public Sector Enterprises. “This will improve corporate governance standards and help raise resources for funding future expansion plans.”

In other words, the government’s disinvestment agenda is back on the fast track. Since May 2009, when the government returned to power, two public sector companies — NHPC and Oil India — have been disinvested and listed on the bourses.

Going forward, the government is likely to start the stalled disinvestment programme through a slew of follow-on public offers of companies already listed on stock exchanges, but where the government still holds more than a 90 per cent stake.

Of the 214 central PSEs, 43 are listed and account for 24 per cent of Bombay Stock Exchange’s market cap of Rs 58 lakh crore.