Government not planning strategic sale of IDBI Bank

The government on Tuesday denied it is considering any proposal of strategic sale, involving surrender of majority ownership, of state-run IDBI Bank.

Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar in response to a query on the matter told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the government is not considering any proposal of strategic sale in IDBI.

The central government held 73.98 per cent shares in IDBI Bank, and state-run Life Insurance Corp held around 14.37 per cent of the shares, as on March 31, 2016.

Noting, however, that state-run banks, including IDBI, have been allowed to raise capital through follow-on public offers or qualified institutional placements, Gangwar said this could result in dilution of "government holding (in banks) up to 52 per cent in a phased manner based on their capital requirement, their stock performance, liquidity, market conditions etc."

--IANS

bc/ss/rn/vt