SCI privatisation plans capsize

The enthusiasm among bidders for acquiring Shipping Corporation of India has fizzled out, after some of the key attractions in the deal were set aside. Some of the several attractions in the deal were the cash reserves with SCI, the Shipping House (the headquarters of SCI in South Mumbai), the Maritime Training Institute and the officers’ flats located in Mumbai and Kolkata. These non-core assets have now been de-merged into a separate company. The core shipping company also transferred Rs1,000 crores to the non-core company.  The shipping giant is now only left with an ageing fleet of ships and a unionised workforce, which has turned down the interest in all the bidders.