‘Govt to soon invite EoI for IDBI Bank privatisation’

The government will soon invite expressions of interest for the privatisation of IDBI Bank Ltd, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Wednesday.

"We have been working at it (IDBI bank privatisation) since quite some time. It is also the first of its kind transaction where, through a bidding route, we would be actually privatising a bank in the real sense... And the expression of interest, we are working at it and will be issued soon," Pandey said at the 19th Annual Capital Markets Conference of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.

In August, Informist had reported that the initial bids for IDBI Bank may be invited by October once regulatory challenges are dealt with. The government needs more time to work out the modalities of the transaction, a senior finance ministry official had said.

There are some pending issues that need to be discussed with the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, he had said.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had given an in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment and transfer of management control in IDBI Bank in May 2021.

the government holds 45.48% stake in the bank while Life Insurance Corp of India, which is currently the promoter of the bank, owns a 49.24% stake. The government and LIC are yet to decide on the quantum of actual stake that they will sell in IDBI Bank. The government has set a target of Rs 650 bln from the divestment in 2022-23, out of which it has raised Rs 245.44 bln.