Coal India Chairman: May Invest $2 Billion To Buy Stakes In Overseas Assets

Coal India Ltd., the world's single largest coal producer, may invest about $2 billion over the next four years to buy stakes in overseas coal assets as it wants to boost local availability of the fuel to meet rising demand, its chairman said Thursday.

Coal India, which floated a tender in July seeking joint business initiatives in coal mining in Australia, the U.S., South Africa and Indonesia, has received about 17 proposals to buy stakes in coal producing areas or to form joint ventures for greenfield projects, Partha S. Bhattacharyya told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.

"We want to enhance the availability of coal in this country by getting coal from overseas, but on terms that are distinctly better than term imports," Bhattacharyya said.

Coal India, which contributes more than 80% of India's total coal production, is doing due diligence on ten proposals from companies including Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) and Massey Energy Co. (MEE), Bhattacharyya said.

- By Rakesh Sharma, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]