The government does not plan to sell its indirectly held stake in ITC at this point, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview on February 14.
“We are currently not selling our stake in ITC. There is nothing on ITC as of now,” Pandey said.
ITC has a diversified presence across FMCG, hotels, software, packaging, paperboards, specialty papers and agribusiness. Life Insurance Corporation of India held a 15.3 percent stake in ITC and domestic mutual funds 9.66 percent as of December.
Pandey denied news reports that the government is looking to sell its ITC stake to help meet its divestment target for FY23.
“News reports about planning stake sale are wrong stories,” Pandey said.
The disinvestment target for FY23 was revised to Rs 50,000 crore from the budget estimate of Rs 65,000 crore after unfavourable market conditions and a sluggish privatisation drive in 2022. The government plans to raise Rs 51,000 crore from disinvestment in FY24.
SUUTI sold a 2 percent stake in ITC at Rs 291.95 per share in February 2017, mobilising Rs 6,700 crore for the government. No stake sale has taken place after that.
ITC’s management said in 2022 the conglomerate was open to an organisational restructuring that would include the demerger of the hotel business and the listing of its subsidiary ITC Infotech.
ITC’s net profit increased 21 percent to Rs 5,031 crore in the December quarter. Gross revenue grew 2.9 percent to Rs 17,122 crore.
