Disinvestment approved, the country’s only state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is ready to go public and in the process become a global giant aerospace manufacturer. While the move will make the organization nimble and competitive, it will be more efficient and professional in its approach to operations.
India's only state-owned aircraft maker is ready to go public. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the Bengaluru-based public sector undertaking, is going to come out with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) soon, thereby fetching funds from investors for its future growth.
The government has already approved a 10 per cent disinvestment in HAL in 2012 when a Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the proposal from the Ministry of Defence and had given a time of five years to complete the process. The proposal had been mooted in 2011. The proposal for disinvestment in HAL was placed before the CCEA in this light in view of the government's plans to modernise the company for which ₹20,000 crore would be required over the next five years. The IPO will be in consonance with that 2012 decision, as and when it is issued.
In preparation for this IPO, the government had in March 2016 wrapped up the 2015-16 disinvestment process by garnering around ₹4,500 crore through a buyback of shares from HAL and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). The buyback of shares has strengthened the balance sheet of HAL and the company has now prepared a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the IPO. The DRHP is likely to be filed with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) soon.
At its latest Board meeting at the end of March 2017, HAL had discussed the IPO and had finalised some of the draft documents in preparation for going public with the Red Herring Prospectus, according to people with knowledge of the Board discussions. The 10 per cent stake that is to be covered under the IPO would be equal to 1.20 crore equity shares of the Navratna defence public sector undertaking. HAL, apart from manufacturing aircraft for the Indian armed forces, also carries out maintenance and overhaul services to aircraft in service with the Army, Navy and the Air Force.
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
India's space economy set to soar
India's burgeoning space economy could see a substantial increase in its global share by 2040. At present, India's space sector contributes a modest $8 billion to the overall cake. However, the government has set its sights on an ambitious target, aiming for a five-fold surge in India's share of the global space economy.
CRITICAL NEED TO BOOST CONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE FLEET
VENUGOPAL MENON explains why India cannot afford to view the critical deficiency in Submarine force levels lightly
BEEFING UP OUR SUBMARINE FLEET
In the last week of March, the Indian Navy displayed its submarine prowess. Eight of its submarines operated together in the Western Indian Ocean Region, a first in three decades, and one of its Scorpene submarines sailed to the Andaman Nicobar Islands, overlooking the Malacca Strait, a critical choke point for China. But how is the comparison with China? RITU SHARMA reports
ENHANCING CRUISE MISSILE CAPABILITY
India’s cruise missile capability has largely evolved as a credible conventional level deterrence since the turn of the new millennium. But much more needs to be done, writes AMARTYA SINHA
BOOSTING DEFENCE EXPORTS
Earlier, India was known to be an arms importer. But today, the country has come out of its comfort zone and found a place in the list of top-25 arms exporter nations argues AMARTYA SINHA
ENHANCING INDIA'S AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE CAPABILITIES
Project NETRA represents a proactive initiative by ISRO to safeguard India's interests in space by mitigating the risks posed by space debris and other hazards, says GIRISH LINGANNA
THE HIMALAYAN TRIANGLE: WHY INDIA KEEPS BHUTAN SAFE FROM CHINA
India, given its special relationship with Bhutan, has been very wary about the possibility of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the signing of a boundary agreement between Bhutan and China, writes SIMRAN SODHI
TROOST, DESAI AND SANCTIONS
The Western sanctions against companies and individuals doing business with Russia have produced a complex set of reactions with lobbyists and shell companies working overtime to beat the rap. A GEOPOLITICS Bureau report
THE KOREA-GATE
India attaches great importance to “three principles of inclusiveness, trust and reciprocity’” for creating the basis for working more closely with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific such as the Republic of Korea (ROK), better known as South Korea for “a free, peaceful and prosperous region”. Prakash Nanda dissects the relationship and the way ahead
Pushpak RLV-TD successfully lands autonomously
ISRO achieved another significant milestone in reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology with the successful landing of Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle, autonomously on the runway.