MOIL to invest Rs 900 cr in capacity expansion, fwd integration

State-run MOIL, whose IPO will hit the market on November 26, has drawn-up plans to invest over Rs 900 crore in capacity expansion and forward integration activities in the next five years, a top company official said.

"We want to grow our manganese ore mining capacity from 1.1 million tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes by 2015-16 for which we have earmarked Rs 768 crore," the company's Chairman and Managing Director K J Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a IPO roadshow here.

Steel producers consume a majority of manganese ore and with the steel production capacities set to almost double to 120 million tonnes by 2012, the demand for the ore is bound to increase, Singh said, adding that currently India is a net importer of the ore.

The company, formerly known as Manganese Ore India Ltd, is also getting into ferro alloys manufacturing as a part of its forward integration strategy and has entered into joint venture agreements with SAIL and RINL in which it will be investing Rs 150 crore, Singh added.

MOIL's Initial Public Offer, in which the state is diluting a 20 per cent stake by selling 3.36 crore shares, will be hitting the market on November 26 and a panel of ministers will be deciding the price-band on November 23.