Govt to focus on strategic stake sales to meet Rs 2.1 trn disinvestment

Dipam secretary pointed out there have been hiccups due to Covid-19

The government will continue to focus on strategic stake sales to meet its Rs 2.1 trillion disinvestment target in the current financial year even as Cvoid-19 has led to some distortions, said secretary for Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Friday.

“Many of the strategic transactions are going on and they are moving forward. There was a bit of distortion due to Covid-19 pandemic,” said Pandey, who was speaking at a webinar on Bharat Bond ETF.

The government has been extending deadlines for expression of interest for strategic sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recently, the government extended the deadline to submit bids for Air India till August 31. The government has extended deadline for submitting expression of interest (EOI) till July 31, 2020.

The Dipam secretary refrained from answering a question on whether the government was considering altering its disinvestment target for FY21, given the current market conditions.

Pandey also avoided sharing update on the IPO process of the insurance major LIC.

The strategic sales being pursued include Air India, BEML, Central Electronics, Scooters India, Bharat Pumps and Compressors, and some dilution in SAIL.

In May, the government said there will be a maximum of four public sector companies in strategic sectors.

Through the second series of Bharat Bond ETF, the government-owned companies could raise as much as Rs 14,000 crore.

Unlike other government ETFs, where investors can invest in equity shares of diverse government PSUs, Bharat Bond ETF allows investors to take exposure to a portfolio of debt papers of government PSUs.

The ETF will be open for subscription between July 14 and July 17.