The Shipping Ministry is preparing a Cabinet note on the proposed 10 per cent divestment in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), but has still not worked out the amount of fresh equity to be issued by the company under the proposed public offer.
"The process (of preparing a Cabinet note) is on," a Shipping Ministry official told PTI.
The government proposes to disinvest up to 10 per cent of its stake in SCI through a follow-on public offer in the current financial year.
However, the quantum of fresh equity to be raised by the company is yet to be decided, sources said.
The Centre currently holds an 80.12 per cent stake in SCI, while over 10 per cent is held by LIC. The remaining 3.15 per cent is with the public.
SCI is likely to utilise the proceeds from the follow-on offer for further acquisitions. At present, SCI owns 76 ships of 5.1 million DWT (deadweight tonnage) and has interests in all segments of shipping trade. In addition, it mans and manages 60 vessels of 0.2 million tonnes DWT -- which is the total weight of the ship including the cargo, crew, fuel, etc.
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The SCI stake sale is part of the government's plans to raise up to Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment this fiscal. Besides SCI, the government is looking at offloading its stake in two more shipping-related companies -- Cochin Shipyard and Dredging Corp of India.
The government had raised about Rs 25,000 crore last fiscal by divesting its stakes in NHPC, Oil India, NTPC and Rural Electrification Corp.