By Anil Varma Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- India’s rupee strengthened for a second day on speculation the government will this week announce plans to bring forward sales of public companies, helping draw investment from abroad. An announcement may be made in the Feb. 26 budget speech, said Sudarshan Bhatt, chief currency trader at state-owned Corporation Bank in Mumbai. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, rose 0.3 percent. “The rupee may strengthen as stocks show a positive direction,” Bhatt said. “The financial market is awaiting the budget, which will probably bring some measures to quicken the disinvestment process.” The rupee appreciated 0.1 percent to 46.15 per dollar as of 10:24 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It gained 0.2 percent yesterday and is up 0.8 percent this year. Offshore contracts indicate bets the rupee will trade at 46.20 per dollar in a month, compared with expectations of 46.26 yesterday. Forwards are agreements in which assets are bought and sold at current prices for future delivery. Non-deliverable contracts are settled in dollars rather than the local currency. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is stepping up efforts to sell stakes in state-run firms to benefit from the 84 percent advance in the Sensex index in the past year. India can sell shares in as many as 60 companies, according to the finance ministry. Rural Electrification Corp., a state-owned lender for Indian power projects, on Feb. 19 began an offering of 128.8 million new shares. The sale, which ends tomorrow, will be successful and draw orders for twice the amount of stock on offer, Finance Director H.D. Khunteta said by telephone today. --Editors: James Regan, Simon Harvey To contact the reporters on this story: Anil Varma in Mumbai at +91-22-6633-9024 or avarma3@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at +852-2977-6608 or shendry@bloomberg.net.

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