Roadshows in Singapore and London, held to ascertain investor interest for the debt-laden national carrier Air India, received a lukewarm response from potential bidders, three top government officials aware of the development told ET. However, that’s not likely to disrupt the government’s privatisation plan schedule.
“The response to the roadshow in Singapore was tepid and it was similar in London, where only a couple of interested parties attended. Definitely, there are concerns about the interest the airline will receive from potential buyers,” said one of the three.
Regardless of this, India is likely to finalise initial bidding documents for the carrier by next month. According to the current timeline, New Delhi is likely to issue the Expression of Interest (EoI) documents after the holiday season to ensure greater participation by foreign buyers, another official told ET.
“We plan to release the EoI documents in January,” the official said. Another official maintained that investor interest in the Mumbai roadshow had been more encouraging while the exercise didn’t get many inquiries overseas.
