Coal India plans to earmark 1 percent share for staff

KOLKATA - Country’s largest coal producer Coal India Ltd (CIL), which is planning to come out with its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares would be earmarking one percent of the share for its staff, a top company official said Tuesday.

This one percent would be offered though an Employees Stock Purchase Scheme, company chairman Partha S. Bhattacharyya said here Tuesday.

“We won’t be offering two percent of the shares to our employees, in all probability it would be one percent and it won’t be reserved but issued to them through a stock purchase scheme,” he said on the sidelines of 3rd North East and East Power Summit 2010 organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce.

The CIL head had earlier said about two percent of the shares in the IPO would be reserved for its staff.

Bhattacharyya said shares cannot be reserved for its staff in the IPO as it initially planned as Securities and Exchange Board of India, the market regulator, has not allowed giving shares to staff employed in a subsidiary.

CIL, is a holding company and most of its staff including all its mining personnel are in the pay roll of eight subsidiaries, which also own the coal mines.

“Since SEBI won’t allow giving shares to subsidiaries we are working on the stock purchase scheme and will discuss this when we meet the regulator on Feb 19,” he said.

CIL’s IPO would consist of divestment of 10 percent stake of the government, which currently holds 100 percent in the coal mining major, he said.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has recently said the stake to be disinvested could vary between 10-15 percent.

Bhattacharyya said the 435 million tonne production target of Coal India for 2009-10 appears “unachievable” due to delays in starting operations in several mines.

“Delays in getting clearances for starting mines in forests are holding back production of 110 million tonne in total and a part of it could have added to our current year’s output,” he said.

CIL plans to produce 460 million tonne of coal in 2010-11, he said.

He added that the company’s subsidiaries are facing problems regarding transportation of coal due to shortage of rakes. “Our Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. (BCCL), Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) and Mahanadi Coalfield Limited are facing transportation problems due to shortage of rakes. Stocks are piling up at these places.”

Bhattacharyya said the requirement for rakes is around 210 rakes per day but it gets around 165-170 rakes.