Govt. expects winning bidder for Air India by end June: Jayant Sinha
The airline would be put up for sale as ‘four different entities’, says Union minister
The government expects to complete the privatisation of Air India by year-end and the winning bidder is likely to be known by the end of June, said Union minister Jayant Sinha. The debt-laden carrier, which is staying afloat on taxpayers’ money, would be put up for sale as “four different entities”, while private players can have at least 51 per cent stake in the airline.
The Minister of State for Civil Aviation said the information memorandum for the proposed strategic disinvestment of Air India would be issued in the next few weeks. The memorandum would lay out details about various aspects, including what would be available for bidding, assets and how much stake the government would own, he told reporters.
“We expect to have a winning bidder by the end of June and the legal closing of this transaction by end of this calendar year,” Sinha said, adding that so far two formal expressions of interest have been received by the ministry. Legal closing means that by that time, “all of the legal agreements, security clearances, transfer of assets, transfer of title, deeds, everything will be complete. So Air India will be operated by somebody else”, he noted.
The expression of interest in Air India disinvestment has come from IndiGo and a foreign bidder, about whom details were not disclosed by the minister. As part of reviving the ailing airline, the government has decided on its strategic disinvestment last year and a group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is working out the modalities of the stake sale.
“We are privatising Air India. That means more than 51 per cent of ownership of Air India is going to be transferred to private sector. We will be transferring control to the private sector, that means government’s ownership will be 49 per cent or less,” Mr. Sinha said.
He also noted that Air India would be transferred to the private sector just like British Airways, American Airlines, Lufthansa and Qantas.
News Source: PTI
You might also like
Foreign tourists visiting India with e-visa can stay up to 2 months
Foreign tourists visiting India on e-visa can now stay up to two months, instead of the earlier one, and enjoy double-entry benefits while those coming for treatment can avail triple-entry
India provides tourism updates at WTM
Dr Mahesh Sharma addresses industry on tourism policies and trends. India’s Ministry of Tourism had a significant presence at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London this week. As a
As winter nears India to convert old train coaches into homeless shelters
Indian officials plan to convert old railway coaches into shelters for the homeless before the start of colder weather, a move campaigners say does not address the issue of a
