New Delhi: Union government plans to set disinvestment receipts target at around Rs 2 lakh crore for FY22, as bulk of the deals planned for FY21 such as strategic sale of fuel retailer-cum-refiner BPCL and the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation are seen materialising next fiscal, along with a clutch of other privatisation deals.
With the Covid-19 pandemic playing spoilsport, FY21 disinvestment revenues will likely be at a five-year low of around Rs 30,000-40,000 crore or 14-19% of the massive annual target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore.
The disinvestment receipts so far this year have been about Rs 17,958 crore or 8.5% of the FY21 target. The government’s residual 26.12% stake sale in Tata Communications (erstwhile Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) is expected to fetch around Rs 8,000 crore by February-March.
Taking advantage of the recent uptick in the share market, the Centre may also attempt to execute a few offer for sales (OFS) of minority stakes in CPSEs before the end of the current fiscal.
While four CPSEs have already bought back a portion of their shares, four more, including Coal India and MOIL, are expected to buy back shares from the government by March 31, 2021. Still, the overall receipts from this route will be the lowest since FY16 (Rs 23,997 crore).