NEW DELHI (Bloomberg) — India's government is discussing selling a stake in Shipping Corp. of India Ltd. as part of its asset sale programme, Shipping Secretary K. Mohandas said.

The company may also consider selling new shares to fund the purchase of vessels and a final decision has yet to be taken, Mohandas told reporters in New Delhi.

India has set a target to raise a record 400 billion rupees ($8.6 billion) from sale of shares in state-owned companies in the year ending March 31. The government has so far sold a part of its stake in SJVN Ltd., a power utility, and has approved the offer of shares in Engineers India Ltd. and Steel Authority of India Ltd.

The sale of a 10 percent stake in Shipping Corp. is being considered, a government official with direct knowledge of the matter, had said on May 14. The company, based in Mumbai, may also sell a similar amount of new stock, the official had said, declining to be identified before an announcement.

Shares of Shipping Corp., the nation's largest sea carrier, fell 1.6 percent to 160.45 rupees at the 3.30 p.m. close in Mumbai. The shares declined as much as 4.5 percent earlier today after the company on May 29 said fourth-quarter profit dropped to 1.36 billion rupees from two billion rupees.