TCIL divestment back under active consideration

The long-delayed divestment of a 10 per cent stake by the government in public-sector Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) is back on the cards, according to reports on Wednesday.

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has moved a note to push through with the proposed initial public offer. According to the proposal, the government plans to divest 10 per cent stake through the IPO. A final decision will be taken by the Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body of the communications ministry, at its next meeting on 18 February.

The public offer of TCI has been hanging fire since 2003. In June 2009, the board of directors of TCIL had approved a proposal to issue 4.32 million equity shares of Rs10 each through an IPO. In March last year, the department of disinvestment (DoD) asked the company to take necessary steps for the IPO.

TCIL's consolidated net worth stood at Rs1,331 crore as of 30 September 2012, while its stand-alone net worth at the time was Rs4,28 crore. The company had paid cumulative dividend of Rs118 crore to the government.

In order to comply with the requirements of listing its shares, TCIL has increased its authorised capital to Rs60 crore from Rs30 crore. The government has restructured its board of directors by increasing the total number of directors to 12, which includes six non-government part-time directors.

The board of directors has also approved allotting shares to employees under the Employees Stock Option Plan.

The company was established in 1978 to provide turnkey consultancy services, and today operates in 58 countries.