The Centre on Monday began the listing process of three profit-making railway companies – IRCTC, IRCON and IRFC – on the stock market.
The government has invited merchant bankers on March 16 to submit their “expression of interest”.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), which runs the largest e-commerce site in India, and the Indian Railway Construction International Ltd (IRCON) are debt-free companies.
They are in the business of catering, hospitality and infrastructure. The Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd (IRFC) is a financing arm of the Ministry of Railways with a net worth of Rs 3,475 crore.
Combined market value
The combined market value of these three companies is Rs 34,010 crore. A 49% stake sale in them via an initial public offering is expected to fetch the exchequer around Rs 17,000 crore at the current market price.
In the 2017 Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed time-bound listing of the three rail companies and five insurance firms.
They will go under the hammer in the new financial year beginning April.The government has set a steep Rs 72,500 crore disinvestment target for the 2018 fiscal.
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