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IPO: Raja’s talks with BSNL unions fail

NEW DELHI: Senior officials of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited have been asked to hold talks with the employees’ unions to break the standoff on the public listing of the company, Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja said here on Thursday.

After holding talks with representatives of unions that failed to convince the latter on the proposed initial public offer (IPO) of BSNL, Mr. Raja told journalists that if the company entered the primary market, each employee would be offered 500 shares at Rs.10 a share through the employee stock option plan (ESOP).

For others, a premium would be charged, with the shares being in the price band of Rs. 300-400 each, depending on the market condition.

Mr. Raja told the unions that the move would benefit the public sector telecom giant.

“It will not only reveal the real value of BSNL, but also help in getting the “navaratna’ status for the company, leading to more autonomy. It will increase BSNL’s rating in national and international markets, resulting in better business negotiations in the competitive environment. The listing will require placing of all the accounts in public domain, which will result in transparency and help in better resource management,” he said.

The unions, however, said they would continue to oppose the public listing of BSNL. “We are not interested in the ESOP package. We don’t want any IPO. We cannot allow open sale of a profitable company. The government has enough funds to expedite expansion and upgrading of infrastructure,” said BSNL Employees Union General Secretary V.A.N. Namboodiri.

BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal said they would continue their discussions with the unions and try to convince them about the IPO.

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