BHP Says India Demand Growth Driving Metals Demand

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, is "pushing aggressively" into India as it seeks to boost sales in one of the world's fastest growing economies. "We are pushing into India extremely aggressively with regards to selling product there," incoming Chief Executive Officer Marius Kloppers said today in a conference with reporters in Melbourne. BHP is now selling more of its products to India than they were selling to China six years ago, he said. BHP has as much as $50 billion of projects that it could develop to feed rising demand from developing economies like China and India, the company has said. Opportunities in India for bauxite and iron ore development "had not yet materialized," Kloppers said today. BHP shares fell as much as 80 cents, or 2.1 percent, to A$36.90 on the Australian Stock Exchange, and traded at A$36.98 at 11:15 a.m. Sydney time.