Coal India to hit capital markets in July

New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) India's largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd (CIL), expects to hit the capital markets by July, company chairman Partha S. Bhattacharyya said here Friday.

The government, which holds 100 percent stake in CIL, will divest  10 percent through an initial public offer (IPO) of 63.1 crore shares, Bhattacharyya told reporters on the sidelines of the 20th Asian Corporate Conference organised by industry lobby CII.

The company will reserve 6.3 crore shares for its employees.

"We hope to file the draft red herring prospectus for the issue with Securities Exchange Board of India by mid-June post our annual general meeting," Bhattacharyya said.

Bhattacharyya added that the company's net profit would be around $1.7 billion in the current fiscal.

The company is now producing 430 million tonnes of coal, which is expected to reach 700 million tonnes over the next 10 years, Bhattacharyya said.

CIL has also secured exploration licences for two blocks in Mozambique and expects to start work there soon.

"We are expecting one billion tonnes reserves from these blocks," he said.

Bhattacharyya also spoke about the company's corporate social responsibilities. "As we are expanding our coal mining operations, its our responsibility to grow more trees than we have cut. We are passionately pursuing the afforestation programme."

The company is adopting clean technology to reduce the impact of mining on the environment, he said.