The Centre has finally decided to take away almost Rs 750 crore from Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) in the form of a special dividend prior to its disinvestment.
The VSNL board today recommended a dividend of 500 per cent, that is, Rs 50 for every share with a face value of Rs 10 for the year ended March 31, 2001. This includes a normal dividend of Rs 10 per share and a special one-time dividend of Rs 40 per share.
"The total payout for the 500 per cent dividend will be around Rs 1,425 crore and an additional Rs 145 crore will be earmarked for the 10 per cent dividend tax," RSP Sinha, director (finance) of VSNL told Business Standard.
Since the Centre controls the international long distance telecom company with a 52.97 per cent stake, it will be the major beneficiary of the special and normal dividends pre-divestment. The government has been looking at several options to utilise VSNL
