SCI revised demerger plan approved by The Ministry of Corporate Affairs

MUMBAI : The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on Thursday, approved the revised demerger plan of Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). Under the revised plan, Rs 1000 crore will be transferred to the non-core assets. The moe will pave way for divestment of SCI, which is expected to be completed by FY24.

According to an exchange filing on BSE, SCI board had approved the Demerger Scheme for hiving off the identified non-core assets of the company on August 3, 2021. Subsequent to the instructions of Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), SCI incorporated a 100 per cent subsidiary Shipping Corporation of India Land and Assets Limited (SCILAL) in November 2021 for the demerger of ‘non core’ assets.

The approval for strategic divestment of SCI was given by the Union Cabinet in November 2019. “Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) / Expression of Interest (EOI) was floated on 22.12.2020 for strategic divestment of entire 100% shareholding of Government of India (“GOI”) equity stake of 63.75% in Shipping Corporation of India Limited (“SCIL”). Multiple EoIs were received by the last date and time of submission of EoIs,” Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal had told Rajya Sabha in December 2021.

The government had said that the proposed strategic disinvestment in SCI would involve ‘disinvesting of core assets of SCI along with management control of the company to a strategic buyer’. The non-core assets of SCI will be hived off through de-merger process in accordance with the prevailing guidelines issued by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).