Coronavirus: Govt's asset sale of LIC, Air India, BPCL to be delayed

The coronavirus outbreak has thrown the government’s asset sale programme almost out of the window and an ambitious target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore for 2020-21 stares at a revision. In addition, the Centre is also set to miss the current year target of Rs 65,000 crore, which was revised downward.

The sale of Air India, when global aviation has taken a huge hit, or Bharat Petroleum Corporation ltd (BPCL), when oil prices have crashed to a historic low, appears almost impossible in the next four to six months.

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The government had earlier this month invited bids to sell its majority stake in BPCL. Based on the current market capitalisation of Rs 87,388 crore, the government’s stake of 52.98% was valued at around Rs 46,300 crore. But the slump in oil prices post Saudi Arabia’s plan to shore up production, has rendered oil companies less competitive.

Other than the initial public offering of state-owned life insurer LIC, disinvestment of Air India and BPCL was key to meeting the disinvestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore in 2020-21.

So far, the asset sale has fetched the government Rs 34,845 crore for 2019-20. With less than two week remaining for the current financial year to end, reaching the target Rs 65,000 crore looks almost impossible, sources told DH.

The government has already extended the deadline for submission of preliminary bids for Air India to April 30 On Tuesday, the department of disinvestment also extended the deadline for expression of interest in Central Electronics Ltd, a fully owned public sector firm under the Department of Science and Technology, by one month to April 16.

Official sources said the prevailing market conditions will also impact part sale of Life Insurance Corporation, which the government had announced in the Budget this year.

Already touted as the decade’s biggest IPO, akin to Saudi Aramco, LIC’s valuation was estimated to be somewhere close to Rs 10 lakh crore, which could have fetched the exchequer Rs 50,000 crore, with a 5% disinvestment and taken care of almost a fourth of the 2020-21 target.