The Centre will invite financial bids for privatising as many as many as six CPSEs, including BPCL, BEML and Shipping Corp., by January, a top government official said on Wednesday.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), also invited private players to bid for the CPSEs that are up for privatisation, along with transfer of management control. “After 19 years, we will see 5-6 [instances of] privatisation this year. BPCL is in the due diligence stage. BEML, Shipping Corp., Pawan Hans, Central Electronics, NINL… financial bids can take place in December-January so that we can close it by this year itself,” he said.
Speaking at the CII Global Economic Policy Summit 2021, the Secretary said the initial public offering of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is expected in the January-March quarter of this fiscal.
The listing of LIC will be crucial for the government in meeting its disinvestment target of ₹1.75 lakh crore for FY22. So far this financial year, ₹9,330 crore has been mopped up through minority stake sales in PSUs and the sale of SUUTI (Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India) stake in Axis Bank.
Last month, the government had accepted an offer for Air India by Talace Pvt. Ltd., a unit of the Tata group, to pay ₹2,700 crore cash and take over ₹15,300 crore of the airline’s debt. Mr. Pandey said that post the experience of the Air India sale, going forward, the privatisation of CPSEs could be accomplished faster.
Cooperation from the private sector was also required; they too had a role to play by bidding for CPSEs that were on sale, he added.
