The listing of Maruti Udyog Ltd at various stock exchanges across the country, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, is likely to be concluded by the middle of next month.

Government sources said the share allotment formula for retail investors would be finalised by Wednesday.

They also said the revision of the Maruti share price to Rs 125 would cost the government an additional Rs 68.8 lakh (Rs 6.88 million).

This is the sum it will have to pay to the Maruti Udyog Employees' Benefit Trust.

The government's buyout package for the shares held by the trust now worked out to be Rs 8.59 crore (Rs 86 million), the officials said.

Since the government has already paid Rs 7.91 crore (Rs 79 million) to the trust at the rate of Rs 115 per share, it will have to make good the difference now.

The trust on behalf of the employees holds 6,88,000 shares at Rs 5 each. The trust was formed in 1990 and the employees initially were allotted these shares for Rs 100 each.

The increase in the buyback package has been due to the government's decision to fix the price of the shares at Rs 125 each, as opposed to Rs 115 a share for the issue.

The employees have a share-holding of 0.2 per cent through the benefit trust. According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India regulations, no trust can legally exist once a company is listed on the bourses after floating a public offer. The buyback resorted to is to circumvent this situation.

The government has decided to allocate 60 per cent of the shares to retail investors, of which 45 per cent will go to small investors and 15 per cent to high net worth individuals. The government revised its earlier decision to allot 60 per cent shares to institutional investors and has now restricted it to 40 per cent.

Keeping in view the fact that the initial public offering has been oversubscribed by about 10 times, the government had also decided to exercise the green shoe option and has raised the initial public offering size to 9.94 crore (99.4 million) shares.

The cut off price of Rs 125 per share is likely to yield the government Rs 993 crore (Rs 9.93 billion).