The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said that it is inviting global expression of interest for strategic disinvestment of 63.75% shares held by Govt of India in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), along with the transfer of management control.
The government said this in an advertisement by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management. It has appointed RBSA Capital Advisors LLP as its transaction advisor to manage the disinvestment process. The last date for submitting the bids is February 13, 2021 it said.
Shares of SCI on Tuesday were up almost 3 per cent at 84.95 on the Bombay stock exchange.
According to the reports, players like Essar Shipping, Adani, Great Eastern Shipping, Vedanta, and Dubai Port World have expressed interest in SCIL
Currently, Shipping Corporation has a fleet strength of 59 vessels and is the largest Indian shipping company catering to the overseas and coastal transportation of goods.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had in November last year given an in-principle approval for strategic divestment of Shipping Corp and Container Corp of India Ltd. However, the plans were delayed due to the pandemic.
For the current fiscal year, the budget has pegged disinvestment proceeds at Rs 2.1 lakh crore. This includes Rs 1.2 lakh crore from Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) share sale and Rs 90,000 crore from public sector banks. So far this fiscal, Rs 6,533 crore has been mopped up through CPSE stake sale.
