BHP Billiton may have put India plan on ice

MUMBAI: Red tape may have forced BHP Billiton, the UK-based metals giant, to shelve its Rs 5,000 crore India plan.

The company, which operates in 25 countries, had announced in 2005 it is looking at opportunities to set up an aluminium plant in Orissa. It had also applied for bauxite mining leases in the southern part of the state.

A spokesperson for BHP Billiton, who did not wish to be identified, denied shelving the project, but told DNA Money from London on Thursday: “These things take a long time to develop and we are still at an early stage of our plan.”

“We are continuing to evaluate and are looking for potential opportunities in India,” the spokesperson said.

On the magnitude of investments and details about the commodity to be mined and produced, the spokesperson said: “We are looking for a range of commodities and there is no targeted investment at this point.”

But government sources aware of the development said BHP Billiton wanted to set up a one million tonne per annum alumina plant with an initial investment of about Rs 5,000 crore.

“But it was forced to cancel plans as it couldn’t handle the Indian bureaucracy,” said the official.

The official said BHP tried at least four times a couple of years ago to enter India but failed.

In FY2008, BHP Billiton generated revenues of $59.5 billion and posted a profit excluding exceptional items of $15.4 billion. Its net operating cash flow stood at $18.2 billion.

shubhashish@dnaindia.net