Informist, Wednesday, May 12, 2021

--Govt source: 2nd wave of COVID-19 may delay big-ticket divestment

--Most FY22 H1 divest likely to be minority stake sale

By Sagar Sen

NEW DELHI – The government's ambitious divestment plan, including privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Air India, is likely to be pushed to the second half of the current financial year due to the raging second wave of COVID-19 infections, a senior finance ministry official said.

"Most of the officials in the department have been working from home due to the second wave," the official told Informist.

"Moreover, there are travel restrictions imposed by a number of countries which are unlikely to be lifted any time soon. Overall, the large disinvestment proposals are unlikely before September."

India is currently experiencing a severe second wave of coronavirus infections. On Friday, the country reported 414,188 new cases, the highest single-day rise so far globally. So far, India has reported 23.3 mln cases, the second-highest in the world after the US.

The government has lined up a host of companies for divestment including strategic sale of Bharat Petroleum, Air India and Shipping Corp of India Ltd and initial public offering of Life Insurance Corp of India Ltd.

The government has already received preliminary bids from Vedanta Group and two international funds for its plan to sell its entire 52.98% stake in Bharat Petroleum Corp.

The government has also got multiple bids for its plan to privatise Air India and Shipping Corp.

The listing of LIC is also likely to be pushed to second half of the year because the insurance behemoth's valuation, which involves valuing its real estate and art assets, is likely to be delayed.

The official said over the next few months the only divestment is likely to be minority stake sales in some public sector including Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd.

The government has set an ambitious target of 1.75 trln rupees from divestment in 2021-22 (Apr-Mar), more than five times of what it raised last year.  End

Edited by Arshad Hussain

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