Mumbai, April 21: At a time when the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is in an advanced stage of monetization of several PSUs, Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal on Thursday said the government should consider corporatization of these companies instead of privatizing them. Apart from large PSUs like BEML, Shipping Corp of India and Neelachal Ispat Nigam, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), NITI Aayog, DIPAM and Department of Expenditure are in the process of identifying non-strategic central PSUs either for closure or privatization. “Why do you want to sell this company (PSU) to any Anil Agarwal? Why can’t we corporatize it instead of privatizing it, especially when in countries like America, Europe, nearly 80 per cent of the companies are corporatized and only 20 per cent are with individuals like Warren Buffett?” Agarwal said while speaking at the Times Network India Economic Conclave 2022 here. Interestingly, the Agarwal’s company has bid for buying government’s entire 52.98 per cent stake in state-run BPCL. Stating that there are almost 200 PSUs, he said the government can corporatize them by offloading all the shareholding into the market. “We do not need to depend on foreigners. Our HNIs, mutual funds and private equity are capable enough to pick up the shares. As L&T, HDFC and ITC run, I am sure these 200 companies can also run efficiently. When the world companies are run by Indians, why Indian companies cannot be run by Indian CEOs?” he asked. Stating that India was playing a crucial role in the current geopolitical situation, Agarwal said: “Everyone is looking at India to find out a solution to end the (Russia-Ukraine) war. India has emerged as a sweet spot because it is definitely little bit sour towards China. Everybody is looking at an alternative source for materials, and to do business. “Earlier, it was only China, but today, the whole world is looking at India as an alternate source.” (UNI)
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