There will not be any more privatisations in the current financial year, but the government would be able to bring an initial public offer (IPO) in Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) early in April or May, said disinvestment secretary Pradip Baijal.He was speaking to reporters on the sideline of a round table on disinvestment, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry here on Thursday. MUL divestment could not be carried out in this fiscal because of certain rules of the Securities & Exchange Board of India. Besides, the prospectus for IPO is yet to be finalised but the entire process will not take long, said Baijal.On the privatisation of National Aluminium Company (Nalco), he said due diligence would recommence after the various concerned parties have been consulted. The due diligence exercise for Nalco was given up last year as the Union leaders in Orissa had assaulted the team of Hindalco, which is one of the bidders. Privatisation plans for Air-India and Indian Airlines have been shelved for the time being because there are no players in the market to buy these airlines, he said.No date has been fixed for the next meeting of the Cabinet committee on disinvestment, he said. Last week, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie had said CCD would meet before the beginning of the Budget session which begins next Monday.Earlier, at the round table, Baijal was quite outspoken in his views on privatisation. He strongly defended the government’s preferred divestment policy—that is, the strategic sale route. On the issue of valuation, he said, “I don’t see any valuation issue. Valuation is what the market is willing to pay, so long as the PSU is sold by way of competitive bidding and by negotiated deals. We always go by competitive bidding and our divestment process has been endorsed by the Supreme Court.”
