Government puts on sale MTNL, BSNL assets worth about Rs 1,100 crore

The government has listed for sale real estate assets of state-owned telecom companies Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) at a reserve price of around Rs 970 crore, according to documents uploaded on the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) website.

BSNL properties located in Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Bhavnagar and Kolkata have been posted for sale at a reserve price of around Rs 660 crore.

The DIPAM website has listed MTNL assets located in Vasari Hill, Goregaon in Mumbai for sale at a reserve price of around Rs 310 crore.

MTNL's 20 flats located in Oshiwara have also been put up for sale as part of the asset monetisation plan of the company.

The flats include two units of 1-room set, 17 units of 1 bedroom hall and kitchen (BHK) and one unit of 2 BHK. Their reserve prices range from Rs 52.26 lakh to Rs 1.59 crore.

The e-auction for MTNL assets will take place on December 14.

The asset monetisation is part of the Rs 69,000 crore revival scheme for MTNL and BSNL which was approved by the government in October 2019.

Both the public sector firms were to identify and monetise assets worth Rs 37,500 crore by 2022.

This information was given recently by Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). The long awaited IPO of LIC, the country's largest insurer, is also coming to an end.

LIC's IPO may be launched in the fourth quarter of the current financial year between January and March. The government will sell up to 10 per cent stake in LIC. They are expected to get Rs 10 lakh crore from this.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the sale of stake in LIC in last year's budget speech, but the corona crisis delayed the process. If the government sells 5 per cent stake in LIC, it will be the largest IPO in the country.

The government is also selling a 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL. For this, three companies have shown interest to the government. In this, Vedanta has made a bid of Rs 59,000 crore. Apart from this, Apollo Global Management and iSquare Capital have also shown interest in it.

The government has also been given the green light to sell the remaining stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL). The Center had first sold 24.08 per cent stake in Hindustan Zinc in 1991-92. In April 2002, the Vajpayee government sold 26 per cent stake in the company to Satellite 44.

The company then increased its stake in Hindustan Zinc to 64.92 per cent. In 2012, the central government decided to sell 29.54 per cent stake in the company. However, it was banned by the Supreme Court due to financial irregularities in the 2002 agreement.

In December last year, the government resumed the process of selling helicopter company Pawan Hans. The government has 51 per cent share while ONGC has 49 per cent share. The government has tried to sell it several times before, but to no avail.

The central government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore this fiscal. So far, the government has raised Rs 9,330 crore by selling its minority stake in PSU and its SUUTI stake in Axis Bank.