As a long-term solution to the woes of the heavily-stressed power sector, which is likely to seek nearly Rs 70,000 crore debt restructuring this fiscal, the State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri has called for listing of these highly-leveraged state-run utilities.
“My personal view is that all the distribution companies and generating companies should try to get listed,” he said. Pointing out that “stock market pressures” can help drive professionalism in such companies, he said, “Listing will make them more viable and would make them adopt more enlightened and commercial policies.”
Explaining the benefits of going public, he further said that once listed, these state-run utilities will have to abide by corporate governance, and that the pressure to manage “investor perceptions” will also help in efficiency.