With at least one buy-back announcement from PSUs every month, the government is expected to garner over Rs 16,000 crore in its disinvestment kitty over the next couple of months.
With at least one buy-back announcement from PSUs every month, the government is expected to garner over Rs 16,000 crore in its disinvestment kitty over the next couple of months.
Besides the usual offer for sale route for disinvestment, the newly created Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has nudged PSUs to buy back shares if they have extra cash which are not put to use for capital expenditure.
The boards of five PSUs -- Coal India, NMDC, Nalco, MOIL and Bharat Electronics — have cleared buy-back proposals. The government holdings in these PSUs are in range of 75-81 per cent and the buy back would be conducted on a proportionate basis.
Together, these buy backs would fetch over Rs 13,500 crore to the exchequer. Besides, the government has already raked in Rs 3,183 crore from stake sale in NHPC, employee subscription in IOC and NTPC disinvestment. “Buy-back announcements have been been made. We estimate over Rs 16,000 crore coming in as and when the buy-back process is completed,” a top official said.
This is more than half that the government has budgeted from minority stake sale in PSUs in the current fiscal. The DIPAM has guidelines that CPSE having net worth of at least Rs 2,000 crore, and balance of over Rs 1,000 crore shall exercise the option buy-back its shares.
