Shipping Corporation of India, NMDC Steel selloff to get fresh push after elections
disinvestment of state-run Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and NMDC Steel will gather traction once the general election concludes in early June, a person close to the development said. The government is in the process of finalising the composition of the board of Shipping Corporation of India Land and Assets Ltd (SCILAL), created by hiving off the non-core real estate assets of SCI, to comply with regulatory requirements for the entity's listing.
The Centre will invite financial bids for its entire 63.75% stake in SCI soon after the demerged entity, SCILAL, is listed. While SCILAL will remain with the government, SCI, with its core assets, will be privatised.
Last year, the Maharashtra government waived off the stamp duty pertaining to the demerger of SCILAL, acceding to the Centre's request. The stamp duty, according to industry estimates, was in excess of ₹250 crore. With this, the government had crossed a key stage in its bid to get SCILAL listed. «These (privatisation of SCI and NMDC Steel) will be pursued vigorously after the election,» said the person quoted above.
The listing of SCILAL will help set the reserve price of SCI, as the shipping firm's current stock value captures both its core and non-core assets, said another person aware of the details. The government's 63.75% stake in SCI is worth about ₹7,800 crore as per the company's latest stock price.
NMDC Steel selloff
The government will invite financial bids for a 50.79% stake in NMDC Steel soon after the polls. It had earlier planned to
