There will be opportunities for consolidation in the energy sector, especially for companies with deep pockets and a long-term view, amid the liquidity crunch caused by the covid-19 pandemic, said Ashish Khanna, Tata Power Solar’s managing director and chief executive officer, at the Mint Pivot or Perish webinar on Thursday.
“With this liquidity crunch, in this policy framework and also in the competence of the companies that go forward, there will be a lot of opportunities for a company with deep pockets, which works on its core competence… there were, there are and there will be opportunities,” Khanna said.
He said consolidation will also involve companies that were operating on a short-term view, with an eye on a sale, provided that they have the risk factors in their favour.
Nayara Energy chief executive officer B. Anand said that opportunities will be there, but most of these will fructify once the covid-19 crisis ends.
The crisis has led to a severe disruption across industries, and the energy sector has been no different.
India’s initial 40-day lockdown had resulted in a 30% fall in the country’s energy demand, according to Paris-based International Energy Agency.
The extension of the lockdown kept energy demand under pressure, which was exacerbated by a shortage of manpower.