Coal India plans to renew its efforts for prospective acquisitions in foreign markets as domestic demand for coal increases.
The company has, in the past five years, failed to use the allotted $12bn cash to purchase mines overseas, reported Bloomberg.
Coal India is also considering seven share sale proposals from Australia and Indonesia and said that initial offers will be sought soon.
In the recent past, Coal India faced several bureaucratic hurdles that prevented the company from signing four overseas deals.
With interest in acquisition once again reviving, the company plans to set up a South African unit next month to analyze prospective assets.
Coal India’s plans to expand in India were delayed due to difficulties arising from land and environment approval processes and continual labor unrest, even as the government has sought an uninterrupted power supply.
The company contributes for over half of the nation’s power generation capacity.
According to the Planning Commission statistics, coal demand in India is projected to increase by 41% within 2017 to 981 million tons, whereas production may rise by 28% to 715 million tons.