The Indian government has initiated talks with Japanese investors such as Mitsubishi Asset Management Company, Sumitomo Asset Management Company and others with regard to their picking up minority equity investments in government owned and operated steel companies like Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), a government official said on Wednesday, May 4.
However, the government official refused to divulge if any talks have been held with Japanese steel majors while acknowledging that the Japanese steel mills might not be eager to participate in minority equity holding in Indian steel companies.
The government has been planning to divest at least 10 percent equity in its wholly owned and managed RINL for over two years and disinvestment plans have been deferred periodically owing to adverse capital market conditions. In the case of SAIL, the government plans to disinvest another five percent of its equity holding to private investors.