Will fund expansion via internal accrual alone: Hind Copper

In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Shakeel Ahmed, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Copper says the company plans to fund Rs 1,850 crore expansions through internal accrual only. Further, talking about the coming FPO, Ahmed says there is no fresh equity part in it.

Below is an edited transcript of Shakeel Ahmed's interview with CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video. Q: Take us through this Rs 1,850 crore expansion that the Cabinet has approved. Was this in line with what your expectations? A: Yes, we had gone ahead with our betting process. This was only a procedural requirement since the investment proposal required approval of CCA, which has been given today and our bids have already been invited. Hence, after this approval it should be possible for us to take a final call on our expansion programme of Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh and other projects were smaller as compared to this. We should now be able to award and select successful bidder for all these projects and start it this calendar year. Q: How would you be funding this Rs 1,850 crore? A: Our financial approvals are much better now than what they were when we started the process of FPO. Our plan is to fund all our expansion projects through internal accrual only. If there is a small gap due to fluctuation or volatility in copper prices, we will bridge it, either through external commercial borrowing or through joint venture with Nalco. Q: What would the expansion plan entail? When could it start coming on stream? A: Out of our eight projects, work on two projects has already commenced. Of our remaining six projects, four projects we have received the financial bids which we are expecting the board