After slashing corporate tax rates for domestic companies, the central government is planning to go for strategic disinvestment of several state-owned firms to raise funds. The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is one of these PSU companies whose stock has triggered a wave of optimism in Indian stock market. In today's AajKaHero series, Zee Business's Managing Editor Anil Singhvi has given a buy call for SCI shares.

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According to him, the target to buy Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) shares should be 46/47/49 because it has already taken a jump of over 30 per cent since it was suggested in the Zee Business programme. He said that the Secretaries' panel has also mentioned the name of SCI among the companies for strategic divestment. Therefore, the buy target should be 46 with a stop loss of 42, he added.

On September 24, the Zee Business suggested the SCI's share under Rs 50 stocks for investment and then it was at 37, but now the stock is trading at 46, with about 40% raise.

The company controls 1/3rd of the country's tonnage, and is also the cheapest shipping company in the world. The SCI has also managed to decrease its one-third debt in the last 4 years, and from its book value of Rs 152, it has come down to 77%, and after witnessing 52 weeks high in the last week.

Investors currently have a golden opportunity to buy Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) share, according to Zee Business report, as the secretaries panel has approved a strategic sale of its stake in the major public sector enterprises, including Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, the Container Corp of India and the Shipping Corp of India, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited and Tehri Hydro. In the SCI, the government previously held 63.75 per cent equity. The panel has reportedly approved a 100% stake sale in PSU's like SCI, BPCL, NEEPCO, Tehri Hydro.

The move is to offset the revenue loss it undertook in announcing corporate tax cuts, as the Centre has recently spared mammoth fund worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore after slashing corporate tax rates for domestic companies. The same is likely to be compensated through strategic disinvestment of Public Sector Units. Notably, this is the first time when the government has decided a complete exit from profit-making PSUs.

Earlier presenting Union Budget 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had indicated government's plan to reduce equity in PSUs to below 51 per cent.

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The strategic divestment in these companies will help the government to target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the current fiscal, while in the last FY, it was Rs 90,000 crore.