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Mamuni Das

New Delhi , May 16

PUBLIC sector disinvestment could be sailing ahead once again, this time on the decks of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI).

The Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways has given the green signal for a 15-per cent disinvestment in SCI.

The move is in line with the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, which had earlier circulated a Cabinet note suggesting thedilution in SCI.

"We have agreed for a 15-per cent disinvestment," the Shipping Secretary, Mr D.T. Joseph, told Business Line.

Initially, the Department of Shipping was not keen on going ahead with the Finance Ministry's proposal . It believed the Government should either retain its holding in SCI at 75 per cent, for which a 5-per cent dilution in stake is required; or reduce it to 51 per cent by selling about 29 per cent stake.

The current paid-up capital of SCI is Rs 282.30 crore. As per the present share holding pattern, the Government holds 80.12 per cent stake in the shipping company, institutional investors hold 13.57 per cent and private corporate bodies 1.72 per cent. The Indian public owns 4.43 per cent and NRIs own 0.16 per cent.

Within the institutional investors' shareholding, mutual funds (including UTI) hold 0.91 per cent shares, financial institutions and insurance companies hold 9.03 per cent, foreign institutional investors own 3.63 per cent.

SCI operates in many areas of shipping business servicing, both national and international trade. The company offers break-bulk service, international container service, liquid/dry bulk service, offshore service, passenger service, in addition to managing several vessels on behalf of various Government departments and organisations.

As on May 1, 2004, the shipping line owned a fleet of 86 vessels of 26.49 lakh gross tonnage, including 45.37 lakh dead weight tonnage.

For the quarter ended December 2004, SCI registered a net profit of Rs 280.15 crore, with a total income of Rs 992.92 crore. For fiscal 2003-04, SCI's net profit after tax was Rs 626.99 crore, with a total income of Rs 3,166.71 crore.

The SCI scrip closed flat at Rs 148.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday.

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