Ignoring the IDBI Bank employees’ four-day strike to protest its privatisation, the government has further reduced its stake in the bank.
The IDBI Bank, in a statement, has said that the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has raised its stake from 7.21 per cent (137,017,058 shares) to over 14.37 per cent (295,778,859 shares) through allotment of 15.8 crore preferential equity shares.
The move effectively brings down the government’s holding in the bank from 80.2 per cent to 74 per cent.
While presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the process of offloading in the IDBI Bank has started. “The Government will take it forward and also consider the option of reducing its stake to below 50 per cent,” he said.
Meanwhile, the protesting employees of the bank have demanded that the government should give an assurance in writing that the public shareholding in the bank will not go below 51 per cent.
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