Singareni would be interested in bids where majority ownership of a minimum 51% is offered by overseas mine owners, the expression of interest (EoI) document said.
State-owned Singareni Collieries Co Ltd (SCCL) is making an audacious bid to acquire majority stakes in coal mines in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and Mozambique. The move by SCCL, a joint venture between the central government and the Telengana state, is to become sole supplier of coal to any planned power or other projects in country's newest state.
"SCCL targets to acquire coal assets abroad and seeks partnerships and alliances with reputed companies in coal-rich countries such as Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and Mozambique," the company said in the global expression of interest floated on Thursday.
Singareni would be interested in bids where majority ownership of a minimum 51% is offered by overseas mine owners, the expression of interest (EoI) document said.
Other than Coal India, SCCL is the only other state-owned coal mining company in the country operating 16 opencast and 32 underground mines in 4 districts of Telangana in the Godavari Valley which has a reserve of 8,791 million tonne (mt) of coal.
Explaining the reason why Singareni, so far a regional and rather a fringe player in the country's energy scenario, has firmed up a global ambition, it said: "With the creation of new state of Telangana, SCCL has the responsibility of being the supplier of coal for power, cement, steel and other consumers in the state such that the growth of the new state continues."
Singareni would be eyeing mines of not less than annual production capacities of 2 mt each having reserves of a minimum 50 mt.
After getting the EoIs by June, SCCL would be doing due diligence study by engaging independent specialist consultants on the short listed bidders offer.
SCCL has already send its officials to some of these countries to do independent assessment of the market scenario and availability of mines which prospectively up for sale.
Analysts tracking the coal sector sees the move of SCCL as being fraught with risks at a time when even big brother Coal India has now backed out of its attempts to acquire mines abroad after its bitter experience in Mozambique.
The near-monopoly coal miner has not been successful in acquiring overseas coal mines since the purchase of two coal blocks in Tete province of Mozambique in 2009. After a long delay of five years, Coal India would dig out coal samples and got them tested in India in 2014.
To its dismay, the test results reportedly said the samples were not good enough to be called coal in terms of heat value.
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