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Disinvestment in more PSUs planned
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 16. The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD) today decided to refer a fresh bunch of public sector units (PSUs) to the reconstituted Disinvestment Commission. It was also decided to disinvest in Paradeep Phosphates Limited (PPL) and Jessop, for which bids would be invited in the next four to five days so that purchase offers could come by early February.
The Disinvestment Minister, Arun Shourie, told presspersons that the CCD reviewed the disinvestment exercise and it was found that barring three cases which involved land disputes, all the other proposals were proceeding on track. Even the union Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, had reportedly expressed satisfaction at the pace of disinvestment.
Mr. Sinha was looking for Rs. 12,000 crores from the PSU disinvestment this fiscal, and so far commitments to the tune of Rs. 3,000 crores were on record. Mr. Shourie, however, declined to guess how much of the target would be accomplished before March 31, but said the Finance Minister had a fair idea. ``On March 31, we hope to give you a pleasant surprise,'' he said.
On the new units which would be put on the privatisation block, Mr. Shourie said names had not been finalised but the Government would be guided by the stated criteria of bringing down its stake to 26 per cent in all the units, barring those in strategic areas.
On Maruti Udyog Limited, where the Government has already decided to offload its stake, the Minister said the valuation process had been completed and Suzuki Motor Company - the other partner - would be invited for discussions on the Rights Issue and `control premium.' The Government expects Suzuki to pay a premium for gaining the sole management control in Maruti.
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