Govt plans to complete sale of Air India subsidiary AIATSL by March

NEW DELHI: The govt plans to finish the sale of Air India flooring handling subsidiary AIATSL via March 2019, an reputable said.

Air India is reeling under an enormous debt burden of over Rs 50,000 crore and the federal government is making plans to promote its non-core subsidiaries of the national service.

"We are looking to conclude strategic sale of Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) in current fiscal. We will soon invite bids from merchant bankers for managing the sale process," the reputable informed PTI.

The sale proceeds would add up to the federal government's disinvestment kitty. The govt has up to now has raised over Rs 15,200 crore from CPSE stake sale in current fiscal as towards the budgeted target of Rs 80,000 crore.

The govt is launching a follow on public be offering of CPSE Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on November 27, focused on to raise up to Rs 14,000 crore.

As a part of its plans to take forward the strategic sale of non-core assets of CPSEs, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has already known assets of loss making Air India which can be to be hived off.

As according to newest information, in 2016-17, two subsidiaries of Air India - AIATSL and Air India Express Ltd - posted profits.

While AIATSL earned Rs 61.66 crore benefit in monetary 12 months 2016-17, another subsidiary AI Express earned benefit of Rs 297 crore.

Some of the other subsidiaries of Air India include Air India Charters Ltd, IAL Airport Services Ltd, Airline Allied Services Ltd, Air India Engineering Services Ltd and Hotel Corporation of India Ltd.

Besides, catering products and services provider AISATS - a 50:50 three way partnership between Air India and SATS Ltd - too posted benefit of Rs 66.06 crore in 2016-17.

Under the administrative control of Ministry of Civil Aviation, AIATSL is 100 according to cent subsidiary of Air India and was integrated in June 2003 with the objective of sporting at the business of providing all kinds of products and services at airport.

Industrial / Business operations of AIATSL include rendering airport flooring handling products and services, including passenger, ramp, security and cargo handling for Air India.

The strategic sale plan follows the verdict via Finance Minister Arun Jaitley led ministerial panel in June to make Air India competitive, by means of chopping down debt and raising resources via promoting land assets and other subsidiaries.

The Group of Ministers (GoM) had determined to revive Air India after the federal government's be offering to sale 76 according to cent stake in the airline failed to attract any bidder previous this 12 months.

The govt had originally proposed to dump 76 according to cent fairness percentage capital of the national service in addition to transfer the control control to non-public gamers.

However, the stake sale failed to attract any bidders when the bidding process were given finished on May 31. In June, the GoM then determined to not cross forward with Air India stake sale in an election 12 months.