The central government may invite financial bids for strategic disinvestment of its 63.75% stake in the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) next month after listing of its demerged entity SCI Land and Assets Ltd (SCILAL) later this month.
SCI share price rose 4.99% to close at Rs 85.17 on the BSE on Tuesday. At the current market price, the Centre’s stake in SCI is worth about Rs 2,528 crore.
The SCI is the largest Indian shipping firm which owns and operates around one-third of the Indian tonnage. SCI’s owned fleet includes bulk carriers, crude oil tankers, product tankers, container vessels, passenger-cum-cargo vessels, LPG and offshore supply vessels.
The government had received multiple expression of interest for its stake in March 2021. However, the financial bids process got delayed due to time taken to demerge the non-core assets of the company.
SCI has hived off its non-core assets to SCILAL, including Shipping House, Mumbai and MTI (Maritime Training Institute), Powai. As per the balance sheet of SCI, the value of non-core assets held for demerger as of March 31, 2022, stood at `2,392 crore.
The Cabinet, in November in 2020, had given in-principle approval for strategic divestment of SCI along with management control to a private sector player.