Coal news and updates

CCI suggests coal sector restructuring by introducing more players

The Competition Commission of India (CCI), which found Coal India (CIL) guilty of abusing its monopoly against power producers, has suggested that the coal sector be restructured by introducing more players so that it can reduce the dominance of CILBSE -0.02 % and facilitate competition.

The commission also said that forming a coal regulator will not help unless there are enough coal producers in the market.

CCI's suggestions are in line with the government's effort to break CIL into smaller companies each comprising one of the subsidiaries. At present, CIL has nine subsidiaries, seven of which produce coal, one is an exploration firm and another is a company floated in Mozambique to explore and subsequently mine coal. Of the seven coal producing companies under CIL, two have accumulated losses while the rest have been making profits. According to CIL officials, five may be spun off into separate companies without any hassle; hiving off the ones with accumulated losses could be an issue and would turn out to be a non-starter.

Source: The Edonomic Times