Photo: Shirish Nadkarni
Great Eastern Shipping Co and the London-based Foresight Group are among the leading names that have put in bids to buy national carrier Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), which has been put up for sale by the Indian government.
India’s Cabinet had, in November 2019, given an in-principle approval for the strategic divestment of its entire 63.75% equity stake in SCI, and also its shareholding in rail-borne cargo carrier, Container Corporation of India (CONCOR). However, the swift spread of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic delayed the disinvestment process.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said in her Budget speech for 2021-22, had said that a number of disinvestment transactions for Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Air India, Shipping Corp of India, Container Corp of India, IDBI Bank, BEML, Pawan Hans and Neelachal Ispat Nigam, among others, would be completed in fiscal 2021-22.