The government is likely to finalise next week the advisor for divestment of state-run oil major Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

The core group of secretaries on divestment is expected to meet in the coming week to finalise the appointment of advisor, from amongst 17 aspirants who had made presentations before the divestment ministry on February 17 and February 18, official sources said.

Divestment ministry officials refused to confirm if HSBC had been shortlisted to act as advisor for the  privatisation of HPCL, where the government has decided to offload 34 per cent stake to a strategic partner, saying it would be decided by the CGD.

Earlier this week, presentations by aspirants before the team of divestment ministry officials had seen some leading national and global merchant bankers vie for the coveted post of HPCL advisor.

As many as seventeen aspirants including Merrill Lynch, J P Morgan, SBI Caps, HSBC and ICICI had bid for managing the divestment of HPCL.

Meanwhile, initial bids for divestment of the government's equity in the public sector oil unit has already been invited and the last date for submission of bids is March 17.

While Reliance has shown interest in bidding for HPCL, oil PSUs like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation have been kept out of the race.

Following the decision of the CGD on the issue, the appointment of HPCL advisor would also require the nod of Divestment Minister Arun Shourie, the officials said.

Post-divestment, the government's stake in HPCL would come down to 12 per cent from about 51 per cent at present as 5 per cent equity would also be offered to employees of the corporation which has about 20 per cent retail market share in India and a refining capacity of 13 million tonne.

As per the pre-eligibility criteria for expressions of interest, the bidders either singular or in a consortium need to have a net worth of at least Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) to submit expression of interest for equity in HPCL.

Further, in case of a consortium, the net worth of only those partners would be taken into account who intend to have 10 per cent stake in the joint bid.