Air India privatisation on track to be completed this year
The India government says the divestment of Air India will be completed by September this year.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government hopes to raise $24 billion from the sale of Air India and other national assets up for sale.
It is selling its entire 100% stake in Air India, Air India Express and a 50% stake in the Air India SATS ground handling business.
Tata Group is the current front-runner to buy the airline, and an employee consortium headed by the AI director Meenakshi Mallik has also submitted an expression of interest.
Tata also has majority stakes in Vistara and AirAsia India.
Air India has been loss-making every year since 2007 when it merged with Indian Airlines.
The Ministry of Finance is currently assessing the initial bids and a list of qualified bidders will be announced soon when formal bids are required.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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