Let India's ONGC Cash Grab Remain a Bad Dream
The government should buy out shareholders rather than mount another tax raid.
People in New Delhi protest against rising fuel prices on Monday. Public anger over soaring energy costs are a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Photographer: Hindustan Times/Getty Images
Here we go again. The gyrations in India’s biggest state-run oil explorer, whose stock was down more than 11.5 percent at one point last week, are a reminder that a nightmare investors thought was over might be resuming.
In early 2009, when global oil prices had collapsed from their pre-financial-crisis high, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. caused a flutter by accusing the Indian government of taking $20 billion cash from Oil & Natural Gas Corp. without consulting minority shareholders.