India has invited bids for three coal blocks containing reserves of about 499.4 million tonnes, the Coal Ministry said, in its first auction of mining rights following investigations into its earlier practice of allocating them. The allocation controversy, dubbed "Coalgate", came up in 2012 after an auditor questioned the government's exercise of awarding mining concessions without competitive bidding. The CBI has already launched probes against industrialists and companies. "The government has initiated an auction of coal blocks by inviting applications for the first time for allocating coal blocks through competitive bidding for specified end-uses," the Coal Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Two of the coal blocks are located in Jharkhand and one in neighbouring West Bengal. The type of coal from the blocks would be used in the steel, cement and sponge iron industries, the statement said. The ministry said in September that bidders would have to agree to milestones for obtaining environment and forest clearance permits and for developing the blocks. Many companies that received coal blocks over the past decade had to give them up recently as the government found them slow to develop the blocks. Difficulties in obtaining environmental approval and securing land for mining have made India the third-largest importer of coal, even though it sits on what BP ranks as the fifth-largest reserve. State-run Coal India is the dominant producer but frequently fails to meet targets. (Reuters)
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A huge gas find with the potential to cut India’s dependence on imports and fire its growth only ends up fuelling — over a decade — a series of controversies involving corporates, the government and courtsClick here to view graphicCompiled by P.B. Jayakumar Graphic by Prashant Chaudhary(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 19-05-2014)
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Shares in Cairn India Ltd slump 4.5 per cent as its net profit lags some analysts' estimates, especially after adjusting for other income.Cairn India's January-March net profit rose 18.4 per cent to Rs 30.35 billion ($497.1 million) from a year earlier, the company said in a statement after the market close on Wednesday (23 April).The oil and gas explorer's net profit was helped by a more than fourfold jump in other income to 3.20 billion rupees from a year earlier.Dealers also cite disappointment over the company's production outlook at its Rajasthan block.(Reuters)
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Essar Oil has reduced its gasoline output due to a technical problem at a continuous catalytic reformer (CCR), a company spokesman said. "Yes, there is a technical problem with our CCR. It will take about a fortnight to fix it," he said. "Because of this, our gasoline production will be impacted."The problem at the reformer would not affect the crude runs at the plant, the spokesman said. Essar operates a 900,000 tonne-per-year CCR at its 400,000 barrels-per-day Vadinar plant in Western India. A CCR converts naphtha into superior grade gasoline.Operations at the CCR were hit earlier this week and Essar would have to shut the reformer completely in the next few days for maintenance, said two trade sources. The refiner has deferred shipment of a 55,000-60,000 tonne 95-octane gasoline cargo that has been sold to BP by "weeks", the sources said.(Reuters)
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A buyout offer from India's billionaire Ruia family for Essar Energy Plc "materially undervalued" the company and its prospects, an independent committee set up to examine the offer said for a third time. Essar Global Fund Ltd (EGFL), which owns about 78 per cent of the resources company, on Friday stuck to its offer of 70 pence per share made on March 14, which was immediately slammed by the committee at the time. Essar Energy shares were about 2 per cent at 66.65 pence at 1223 GMT on the London Stock Exchange on Friday. EGFL, in which brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia are beneficiaries, said on Friday that Essar Energy's shareholders and bondholders had till May 9 to accept the offer. The offer would become unconditional if 90 per cent of shares outstanding are tendered in its favour. However, EGFL can change the acceptance level at its discretion. The independent committee on Friday urged shareholders to take no action in relation to the offer and said it would make its views clear by no later than April 25. Essar Energy owns a series of power and oil assets in India and also operates UK's second-biggest oil refinery, Stanlow, in northwest England. Since it listed in London nearly four years ago, the company has faced a string of problems, including slow growth in its Indian operations, delays in getting coal licences, a tough tax regime in India and a fall in margins at Stanlow. The problems have eroded Essar Energy stock's value significantly from its listing price of 420 pence in 2010. EGFL, which made the offer through its subsidiary Energy Bidco Holdings Ltd, had also proposed to acquire the Essar Energy-guaranteed 4.25 percent convertible bonds due 2016. Ravi Ruia also sits on Essar Energy's board along with his nephew Prashant Ruia. Brothers Shashi and Ravi, whose interests span energy, telecoms, steel and shipping, had a combined net worth of about $4.9 billion as of March, according to Forbes. Two of the London-listed company's minority shareholders, Standard Life and Henderson Global, have previously called EGFL's offer opportunistic. Essar Energy's independent committee is being advised by Greenhill and JPMorgan Cazenove. (Reuters)
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Credit Suisse downgrades Coal India to "neutral" from "outperform" but raises its target price to Rs 380 from Rs 330.The investment bank says Coal India "is cheap no longer" while noting "it is difficult to see volumes improving within 3-4 years."Still, Credit Suisse says Coal India shares have uspide risk until the government's restructuring plans are unveiled.Prime Minister Modi is exploring breaking up Coal India and opening up the sector to foreign investment, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on May 21."Till government's plans for restructuring are known, CIL can become a concept stock with upside risk," Credit Suisse said in a note on Monday (2 June).Coal India shares are flat in trade as of 11:48 a.m.(Reuters)
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Coal India's operating profit may beat consensus estimates when the miner reports January-March results later in the day, Thomson Reuters StarMine's SmartEstimates shows.StarMine's SmartEstimates, which places a greater emphasis on forecasts by top-rated analysts, expects Coal India to report an operating profit of Rs 6373 crore ($1.08 billion) in the quarter, compared with a consensus mean estimate of Rs 5908 crore.Coal Indian shares are down 0.55 per cent as of 10:32 a.m on 29 May.(Reuters)
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CVC Pradeep Kumar, who along with other two vigilance commissioners was asked by the Supreme Court to assist it in monitoring coal blocks allocation scam probe, today pleaded for his withdrawal from the cases. The Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) submitted before a bench headed by Justice R M Lodha that he be allowed to withdraw from the cases as he had worked with the coal ministry as a joint secretary between 2003-06. The apex court said that it would consider the plea made by CVC when the special bench, which is hearing coalgate cases, assembles. The court had on March 28 sought assistance of CVC to examine all cases in coal blocks allocation scam in which there were divergent views between the investigating officer and CBI's head office on filing charge sheets. It had asked CVC and two vigilance commissioners to give their suggestions whether the cases can be closed or CBI can go ahead with the filing of charge sheets in them. The apex court had passed the order after it was informed that the agency had filed closure reports in two cases despite there being difference of opinion among CBI officials. CBI had informed the court that there were till date 20 such cases where officers had differed on what further action needed to be taken. The court had directed the agency to place the documents of all 20 cases within five days before CVC for its perusal and the corruption watchdog was asked to file its report in four weeks. It had said CVC, along with other two vigilance commissioners, will examine the documents and file their report in a sealed envelope on what should be done in those cases. DIG Ravi Kant Sharma, who supervises the coal scam probe, along with other two officers of the same rank, had said that the investigating officer (IO) had opined to close one of the cases which was rejected by him but his officers approved the opinion of IO after which closure report was filed. (PTI)
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