More upsides ahead for CIL; conflicting views may leave investors confused

While Street is divided, positives include robust demand, e-auction volumes

Conflicting views on Coal India (CIL) might leave investors confused. The bullish perspective that India has strong power demand (and also high steel production) means high demand for coal. As CIL is the monopoly producer of coal -- supplying over 80 per cent of the domestic requirement – the public sector undertaking should be a beneficiary of the rising power demand

As a result, steel producers who don’t have access to CIL’s coal or their own captive mines, are forced to import coal.  

The bear case is as follows. A large part of CIL’s production must be sold at fixed