The strategic sale of IDBI Bank is well underway, a senior finance ministry official said on Wednesday, while underlining that strategies for stake sales of public sector enterprises will be calibrated given the current market conditions.
“The strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank is moving ahead as per the decision of the government and we are moving parallel on several fronts,” said Arunish Chawla, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
While declining to give a definite timeline for completion of the transaction, Chawla said that several key steps have been taking including establishing a data room and responding to queries of the bidders. An asset valuer has also been appointed. “Financial bids will come when the stage comes for that,” he told reporters.
As part of the disinvestment, the Centre along with Life Insurance Corporation of India will sell 61% stake in the bank. This includes 30.48% stake of the Government of India and 30.24% of LIC. It is expected that the process, which started in January 2023 will be completed this fiscal.
The DIPAM Secretary also underlined that the department’s strategy is calibrated to market conditions. “The instrument that we deploy will be based on market conditions. This is part of the organised strategy of the department,” he underscored amidst ongoing turbulence in global and domestic equity markets as the US takes action on reciprocal tariffs.
Underlining the value creation by Central public sector enterprises, Chawla expressed hope that they will give a record highest ever dividend in the current fiscal. “We hope to achieve the highest ever PSU dividends this year,” he said, adding that state run firms will also meet their capital expenditure target for the fiscal.
In FY25, CPSEs gave a record dividend of Rs 1.5 lakh crore of which the Centre received Rs 74,016.68 crore. Top dividend paying firms in FY25 include Coal India Ltd that paid Rs 10,252.09 crore, and ONGC Ltd that gave Rs 10,001.97 crore.
