ICVL eyes overseas coal properties
03 Feb 2011
New Delhi: India's International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) consortium, a recently promoted special purpose vehicle, is looking to acquire overseas coal assets in order to meet rising domestic demand in what is now Asia's third-largest economy.
"There are a number of properties ICVL is looking at in countries such as Australia, the US and Indonesia," PK Bishnoi, chairman and managing director of steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), told reporters on the side-lines of an industry conference.
ICVL is a joint venture company comprising of utility NTPC, Steel Authority of India Ltd, iron ore miner NMDC, Coal India and RINL.
For the next fiscal year to March 2012, India's demand for this fossil fuel is seen at 696 million tonnes. Of this demand the country will need to import about 142 million tonnes in order to bridge a supply shortfall, coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said Thursday.
As with other importing nations, India too is viewing the recent floods in Australia with considerable alarm as high global prices triggered by floods and other adverse weather conditions is likely to impact imports.
In turn, Jaiswal pointed out, this is likely to impact power generation.