Singaporean consortium secures $850m for South32’s Australian coking coal
South32 said in February it had agreed to sell the business in New South Wales state for $1.65 billion.
Japanese trading house Sojitz Corp said on Monday in a statement it would sell its 30 percent stake in the Bara Alam Utama (BAU) thermal coal mine in South Sumatra, Indonesia, to an existing partner for an undisclosed sum.
The deal reflects the company’s effort to rebalance its coal assets, shifting away from thermal coal investment and focusing more on coking coal, amid growing global concerns for environment and long-term business sustainability, a spokesman said.
Sojitz will continue to serve as the BAU’s exclusive sales agent in Japan and continue to provide a stable supply of coal to Japanese market, it said in a statement.
(By Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
