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Indal to buy majority stake in Utkal Alumina
By A Staff Reporter
Indal, the A.V. Birla Group company, is planning to have a majority share of 50 per cent in the $1 billion Utkal Alumina project. Indal currently has 20 per cent stake, while the Canada-based Alcan has 35 per cent and Norsk Hydro has 45 per cent in the Orissa- based company. Talks among the three co-promoters are scheduled during the first week of August.
Indal, apparently, wants to consolidate its position in the alumina business. Its plant at Muri, now in Jharkhand, has a capacity of 88,000 tonnes which it wants to increase to 1.01 lakh tonnes through de-bottlenecking. The capacity of its Belgaum alumina plant will be raised from 3 lakh tonnes to 4 lakh tonnes.
The A.V. Birla flagship, Hindalco, holds 74.6 per cent in Indal. Financial institutions hold 7.8 per cent while corporates and the general public have 15.2 per cent.
The Birla Group is the largest aluminium producer in the country followed by Nalco. Utkal Alumina is a greenfield project set up near Doraugurha in the Rayagada district of Orissa. It is a 100 per cent export-oriented unit.
(1/8/01)
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