new delhi in a major boost to air indias divestment world banks investment arm international finance corporation ifc has said it may participate in the airlines selloff it has been in talks with people close to the transaction and may underwrite the entire debt for the successful bidder the government has allocated a rs 33392crore debtcumworking capital loan to the aiai express and ai sats combine which is being sold off first as the airline arm of the maharajawhen contacted an ifc spokesperson said while the agency is not participating in ais bidding process it will see who the successful bidder is and then evaluate what role ifc could play at present we are not involved in the air india disinvestment process normally ifc does not join the fray during the bidding phase he said however we are committed to bridging development gaps in india and financing transport and logistics is one of our top strategic priorities as it is for the country therefore we are watching the air india process closely and may get involved at a later stage once the winning bidder is chosen we will evaluate the situation to see if we have a role to play the ifc spokesperson addedapart from four airlines etihad lufthansa british airways owner iag and singapore airlines sia some financial institutions and sovereign funds are also reported to be in touch with the transaction adviser except sia which has a jv with tatas that is tipped to bid for ai the other three carriers are reportedly in talks with indian business houses one of the business houses is led by a promoter currently facing serious financial troubles of his own