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Journalism of Courage
New Delhi, June 15: "SCI disinvestment is under consideration for the past two years and a final decision is likely to come by next week," Surface Transport Minister Rajnath Singh told PTI.
Oil PSUs are the main user of SCI fleet. In addition, 10 per cent of the company’s equity could be offered to private and joint sector refineries, to bring down government stake to 40 per cent from the present 80 per cent, the Commission said.
Financial institutions and retail investors hold the remaining 20 per cent stake in the company. Although IOC has agreed to pick 10 per cent stake, BPCL, despite its keeness, has cited resource crunch for not being able to pick up stake immediately, sources said.
HPCL has so far remained non-committal on the issue, they said. After the initial reluctance shown by oil PSUs, the Ministry of Surface Transport prepared a note to sell 50 per cent of its holding in the Rs 2,500 crore shipping giant to a strategic buyer.
But the offer received lukewarm response as private companies were reluctant to take over a "overmanned" company, a factor which even frightened 11 billion dollar Canadian Pacific Lines and UK-based Contship Shipping Lines which had initally shown interest in the venture, sources said.
SCI, which has about 126 vessels aggregating 5.55 million dead weight tonnage, has around 10,000 floating staff and nearly 1,550 shore staff.
Though a restructuring programme was being carried out at SCI to cut staff strength by offering an attractive voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), officials said the proposal of having a strategic partner may be dropped.
"National oil companies will be offered 30 per cent stake afresh, though the remaining 10 per cent may go the private sector’s way," sources said.
A rethink over having a strategic partner would only be possible when the oil companies reject the offer, they said adding revaluation of government stake would be done afresh as SCI’s scrip has been fluctuating quiet a lot which has made the process clumsy.
