Gujarat NRE unit plans listing in 2010-11

Gujarat NRE Mineral Resources Limited (GNMRL), a holding company in Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd, is likely to be listed on Indian bourses during the fiscal 2010-11 as the company intends to come out with its initial public offer (IPO) this fiscal.

"We are looking at listing GNMRL in India by the end of this year," Arun Kumar Jagatramka, chairman and managing director, Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd (GNCL), said on Thursday in Ahmedabad.

"We have not yet decided on the size of the issue and the number of shares to be offered to the investors. The details are being worked out," he added.

Jagatramka was in the city to announce GNMRL's rights issue, through which the company will raise Rs 119.33 crore by offering 23.86 crore shares at an issue price of Rs five per equity share to the existing shareholders of the company.

GNMRL holds controlling stake of 33 per cent in Gujarat NRE Coke, the flagship company of Gujarat NRE Group and largest independent producer of metallurgical coke in India.

Gujarat NRE Coke, through its Australian subsidiary Gujarat NRE Coking Coal Ltd (GNCCL), owns and operates two coal mines in Australia having coal resources of over 560 million tonnes.

"Last year, the company achieved a coal production of 1.20 million tonnes from these two mines, which we plan to raise to 2.2 million tonnes in 2010-11 and it would be further scaled up to 3 million tonnes in 2011-12," Jagatramka said.

In fact, the company aims to have a production of 6 million tonnes in Australia by 2014 with an overall capital expenditure of $ 500 million. Informing that the company has so far pumped in $ 100 million, he added that last week the company approved investment of another $ 100 million to increase the production.

Gujarat NRE Group has plans to take up its met coke production in India to 4 million tonnes by the time it achieves a coal production of 6 million tonnes in Australia. At present, the company has met coke capacity of 1.25 million tonnes with its plants in Gujarat and Karnataka.

"We want to increase the capacity of our Bhachau unit in Gujarat to 1 million tonnes from present 0.68 million tonnes with an investment of Rs 600 crore. The investment also includes a cost for power project. In addition to this, the company is also setting up a green field project having production capacity of 1 million tonnes and a power plant in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 800 crore," he said.