Nine firms show interest in reviving NTC mills

As many as nine private companies have expressed interest to partner state-owned National Textile Corporation (NTC) for reviving its 16 mills across the country. Among the companies that have shown interest in NTC are Abhishek Industries, Alps Industries, Falcon Tyres, Alok Industries and Nitco.

Ganesh Polytex, Liners (India), SBPL and Bhaskar Industries are the other companies that have evinced interest in the ailing textile company.

"The aim is to enter into JV with private players so as to turn around the mills into profit-making units," K R Pillai, chairman and managing director, NTC, said.

The private players would be responsible for upgrading the machinery, if required, and invest in raw materials, he added.

NTC intends to retain a majority 51 per cent stake in the joint ventures, while the remaining stake will be held by the partner company. However, the private players have asked for a change in the sharing pattern as they feel that despite investing in the mills, they will not have a say in the management.

NTC has appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as the consultant for finalising the joint venture model. Once the model is finalised, it will be sent to a group of ministers (GoM) headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

"The final model is expected to be ready by September this year," a senior textile ministry official added.

The private players have also asked NTC to revise the initial lease period from 15 years to 20 years. Earlier, NTC had proposed to review the performance of the joint venture after 15 years and only then extend the collboration for another 15 years.

Another key issue is the future of 5,000 employees of the state-owned company. The private players do not to want to continue with the staff. "For this, we are planning to introduce voluntary retirement scheme," Pillai added.

Earlier, five NTC mills were sold for around Rs 5,500 crore in Mumbai in 2005 as a part of revenue generation through the sale of surplus land. These were Kohinoor Mills, Elphinstone Mills, Jupiter Mills, Apollo Mills and Mumbai Textiles.