High returns lure wealthy investors to fund coal as banks exit
Wealthy Australians are emerging as an important pool of capital for financing coal projects shunned by banks.
Protests by workers at Coal India Ltd on Tuesday hit output by about 56%, a senior company official told Reuters.
The workers’ strike over implementation of reforms including allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in coal mining – which India approved last month to attract global miners to India – paralysed operations.
The company, which accounts for over four-fifths of India’s coal output and employs about 300,000 people, registered a 30% attendance due to the strike. India depends on coal-based utilities for three-quarters of its electricity generation.
Coal India produced a total of 466,000 tonnes of coal on Tuesday, which compared to an business-as-usual production estimate of 1.05 million tonnes, the official said.
(By Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Louise Heavens)
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