Coal miner NLC India plans $720 million sale of renewables unit

Monetizing assets is a way for state-run firms to attract private capital and raise efficiency, according to NITI Aayog, an Indian government run public policy think tank.

State-run coal miner and power producer NLC India Ltd. is planning to sell renewable assets worth an estimated 60 billion rupees ($720 million).

The company will put nearly 1.4 gigawatts of mostly solar plants on the market, Chairman M. Prasanna Kumar said in an interview. It hopes to sell them by the end of this fiscal year, and has appointed SBI Capital Markets to advise on the transactions, he said, adding that the valuation is still not final.

The NLC sales come as New Delhi seeks to raise 500 billion rupees via selling assets in the fiscal year that began April 1, according to the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in February. Monetizing assets is a way for state-run firms to attract private capital and raise efficiency, according to NITI Aayog, an Indian government run public policy think tank.

The Chennai-based miner and electricity generator also plans to double its coal and lignite output by 2030, as well as building about 6 gigawatts of new power plants running on these fuels, according to data provided by the company.