Draft cabinet note issued for listing of 25% shares of CIL arm: Report

Bharat Coking Coal Ltd was incorporated in January, 1972 to operate coking coal mines operating in the Jharia and Raniganj Coalfields

The coal ministry has floated a draft cabinet note for seeking inter-ministerial views on the proposal to list 25 per cent shares of Coal India arm BCCL.

As a part of Coal India (CIL) restructuring, the government has decided for an initial listing of 25 per cent shares of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL).

"Draft cabinet note for initial listing of 25 per cent of shares of... BCCL has been approved by the Minister of Coal," a source said, adding that "the draft cabinet note in respect of BCCL has been sent for IMC consultation."

A query sent to a Coal Ministry official on the same, remained unanswered till the filing of the story.

CIL had last month said that it is planning to divest 25 per cent stake in its unlisted arm BCCL and will go for the subsequent listing of the subsidiary on stock exchanges after obtaining further clearances.

A meeting of the board of directors to this effect was held on March 10, 2022, CIL had said in a regulatory filing.

"As advised by MoC (Ministry of Coal), CIL Board in its 438th meeting held on March 10, 2022 had accorded its 'in-principle' approval to divest 25 per cent of paid-up share capital of BCCL held by CIL and its subsequent listing on stock exchanges and advised to forward the proposal to Ministry of Coal for obtaining further clearances," the filing had said.

Stating that the company's board had given only "in principle" approval to the proposal, CIL said that only after getting further clearance from the government, subsequent action would be initiated.

"On receipt of further clearance from MoC the same would be placed to CIL board and the decision of CIL board would be promptly disseminated to stock exchanges," the filing had said.

In FY '21, against the target of 37.13 MT BCCL achieved a production of 24.66 million tonnes (MT). The net turnover of the company during FY'21 was Rs 6,149.81 crore against the previous year turnover of Rs 8,967.56 crore. This significant fall in sales affected the bottom line of the company's finances, according to the annual report of BCCL.

As a result of which, the company could not maintain its profitability unlike previous years and incurred a net loss (LBT) of Rs 1,577.06 crore. Its PBT (profit before tax) stood at Rs 991.12 crore in 2019-20, the report said.

Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

BCCL was incorporated in January, 1972 to operate coking coal mines operating in the Jharia and Raniganj Coalfields. It was taken over by the government on October 16, 1971. It is a Public Sector Undertaking engaged in mining of coal and allied activities.