Strategic stake sale in CONCOR remains in the slow lane
Though approved in 2019, it is not being pursued due to concerns of Ministry of Railways
- Feb 19, 2024,
- Updated Feb 19, 2024 6:07 PM IST
The proposed strategic disinvestment of railway public sector firm Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) is likely to stay in the slow lane as the Railways is keen to wait on this for a while. According to highly placed sources, the strategic disinvestment of CONCOR remains on the table, but is unlikely to be pursued for now due to concerns raised by the railway ministry.
“The strategic stake sale in CONCOR is still part of the disinvestment line-up as it has already been approved by the Cabinet. But it is not being pursued for now,” said a senior official.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the strategic disinvestment of government equity amounting to 30.8% stake in CONCOR way back in November 2019, along with the transfer of management control.
Then in September 2022, the Union Cabinet had also approved a policy on long-term leasing of railway land that was expected to help with the stake sale in CONCOR. In October of the same year, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management had also initiated road shows with potential investors for the stake sale.
“That is the policy of Government of India. So whatever policy is given by them, we will follow that policy. We cannot comment on that… But having said that, we are doing normal business. We are expanding our terminals. We are expanding our customer base. And we are giving more and more—introducing more and more services for our customers. And so that the existing customers stay with us, new customers join us… The business is not stopping. As and when it comes, we'll obey the orders of government,” Sanjay Swarup, Chairman and managing Director, Concor had said in the company’s third quarter earning call in response to a question on its disinvestment.
The Centre currently holds 54.8% stake in the railway PSU. It was expected that CONCOR’s stake sale would be completed this fiscal.
The proposed strategic disinvestment of railway public sector firm Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) is likely to stay in the slow lane as the Railways is keen to wait on this for a while. According to highly placed sources, the strategic disinvestment of CONCOR remains on the table, but is unlikely to be pursued for now due to concerns raised by the railway ministry.
“The strategic stake sale in CONCOR is still part of the disinvestment line-up as it has already been approved by the Cabinet. But it is not being pursued for now,” said a senior official.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the strategic disinvestment of government equity amounting to 30.8% stake in CONCOR way back in November 2019, along with the transfer of management control.
Then in September 2022, the Union Cabinet had also approved a policy on long-term leasing of railway land that was expected to help with the stake sale in CONCOR. In October of the same year, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management had also initiated road shows with potential investors for the stake sale.
“That is the policy of Government of India. So whatever policy is given by them, we will follow that policy. We cannot comment on that… But having said that, we are doing normal business. We are expanding our terminals. We are expanding our customer base. And we are giving more and more—introducing more and more services for our customers. And so that the existing customers stay with us, new customers join us… The business is not stopping. As and when it comes, we'll obey the orders of government,” Sanjay Swarup, Chairman and managing Director, Concor had said in the company’s third quarter earning call in response to a question on its disinvestment.
The Centre currently holds 54.8% stake in the railway PSU. It was expected that CONCOR’s stake sale would be completed this fiscal.