RINL Vizag Steel Disinvestment: These 5 companies to make presentation on Sept 30

New Delhi: The new development in RINL Vizag Steel Disinvestment is the appointment of a transaction advisor which will be announced soon. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management released a circular in this regard a couple of days back stating that "Ernst & Young LLP, SBI Capital Markets, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, JM Financial Ltd and RBSA Capital Advisers LLP are candidates for engaging as transaction advisors to the government for its 100 percent stake in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) or Vizag steel".

Technical presentation on September 30

The selected five companies are required to make presentations on their technical proposal before DIPAM's selection committee on September 30, the circular stated. 

DIPAM, which manages the government's equity in public sector companies, had announced the request for proposal (RFP) on July 7, this year. The last date for bidding was July 28, which was extended till August 26. The transaction advisor would be required to provide advisory services and managing the strategic disinvestment of the government's stake in Vizag steels and RINL's stake in its subsidiaries and joint ventures. 

Disinvestment proposal and protests

Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given 'in-principle approval for the 100 percent disinvestment of the government's stake in RINL along with the steep producer's stake in its subsidiaries and joint ventures through privatisation on January 27. However, protests against RINL-VSP disinvestment began on March 9 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha that the Centre would go ahead with RINL privatisation.

Earlier on February 21 this year the employees of RINL Vizag Steel had taken out a massive rally demanding the privatisation decision be rolled back.

The government had set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for the current fiscal year. As per DIPAM's website, it has received disinvestment receipts totalling Rs 9,110.56 crore. It plans to complete the strategic sales of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corp, Container Corporation, Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd, Pawan Hans, and Air India, among others, by March 2022.

Stupendous performance

RINL-VSP had registered a strong performance by recording the sales turnover of around Rs 18,000 crore, the second-highest since inception during the just concluded the financial year 2020-21, representing impressive growth of 13 percent. The sales volumes of the company reached 4.45 million tonnes, with a growth of 4 percent. RINL registered a net profit of about Rs 740 crore in the last four months.

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