Coal India considering listing on London Stock Exchange

By Neha Dasgupta and Sudarshan Varadhan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Coal India Ltd, the world's largest coal miner, is considering a listing on the London Stock Exchange and has had early discussions with the LSE, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

A listing by the state-controlled miner would be a boost for the LSE as it looks to attract companies following Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Coal India and LSE officials met in London in December to discuss the matter but there is no guarantee a listing will happen, two sources said.

The sources requested anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

"Coal India is examining the proposal, it has come from them," one of the sources said, adding that the idea was looked on favourably by the British government.

LSE spokeswoman Alexandra Ritterman declined to comment on "speculative future listings".

The LSE, which hopes to attract a listing from Saudi Aramco, has said it sees longer term prospects from India.

Coal India had no immediate comment. It was also not possible to immediately confirm whether Coal India had appointed any advisers on the potential LSE listing.

Kolkata-based Coal India, which is listed in Mumbai and has a market capitalisation of around $27 billion, has been holding road shows including in London to seek buyers for a 10 percent stake.

Almost all of the company's assets are in India but it is trying to buy assets in Australia and South Africa as it looks to secure supplies of coking coal used to make steel.

(Additional reporting by Krishna N. Das and Dasha Afanasieva; editing by Jason Neely)