Lot of interest for Air India stake sale: Civil Aviation Secy

The government on Thursday said there is a great deal of interest for disinvestment of Air India, amid the deadline for submission of preliminary bids ending this month.

The last date for submission of Expression of Interest (EoI) for the proposed 76% stake sale in debt-laden Air India is May 31. Earlier this month, the government came out with clarifications related to the disinvestment.

"There is a great deal of interest for Air India," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said here.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the US-India Aviation Summit here.

Choubey also said that no American carrier has expressed formal interest for Air India.

The divestment would include profit-making Air India Express and joint venture AISATS, an equal joint venture between the national carrier and Singapore-based SATS Ltd.

Providing more time, the last date for submission of Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for Air India disinvestment was extended to May 31 from the earlier deadline of May 14. The qualified bidders would now be known on June 15, whereas the earlier date was May 29.

Starting the disinvestment process of the debt-laden national carrier, the preliminary information memorandum for the proposed sale of up to 76% stake in Air India along with management control to private entities was issued on March 28.

The government also made it clear that it would have the rights of a "minority shareholder" with 24% stake in Air India post disinvestment.