Air India IPO only after performance review

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New Delhi: The initial public offering (IPO) of the national carrier Air India would be floated only after a performance evaluation, Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said on Tuesday. "We would initially look at the performance of Air India before coming up with an IPO. It will come up at an appropriate time," said Chawla here. According to him, the public issue would come only after the merger of the government-owned airlines, Air India and Indian Airlines, was complete. The merger is expected to be complete by March 2009. The government is also sceptical about the volatility of the stock market. Chawla said the government was not rethinking or deferring the IPO. "There is no question of deferring the IPO at this moment," he pointed out. The merger of the two airlines was initiated in July 2007. The government indicated a time frame of one to one-and-a-half year for completing the process. Also there was a proposal to offload 10-15 percent of the government stake in the merged entity for its expansion. The company is also likely to give away five percent of its equity as stock options to its employees.
Source: IANS