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Despite pursuing numerous proposals in the past, Coal India has failed to secure any overseas acquisitions in the past five years.
With Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal at the helm, the Ministry of Coal is looking to revive efforts to boost output.
As a result, Coal India is determined to go all-out with its acquisitions at a time when output of coking and high-grade thermal coal is declining from domestic mines.
The state-owned miner, which holds a near monopoly over India’s coal market, said it was open to complete takeovers or equity investment on a production sharing basis.
“Coal India has already identified several prospective coal resources in select countries,” a document released by the company stated.
The company holds 17 investment proposals from foreign mining companies.
But if past experience is anything to go by, Coal India may struggle to convert the proposals into concrete deals due to several extraneous factors and governmental oversight issues.
Coal India has not successfully acquired overseas coal mines since its purchase of two coal blocks in Tete province of Mozambique in 2009.
If the company does not acquire more foreign investment, it runs the risk of failing to meet growing demand from the energy sector.
