Nalco of India Plans to Raise EU150 Million of Overseas Debt

Sept. 22 -- National Aluminium Co., India's second-biggest producer of the metal, plans to raise as much as 150 million euros ($211 million) of overseas debt to finance projects aimed at boosting production. The state-owned company wants to borrow abroad because the cost would be less than what it earns on its bank deposits, it said in an e-mailed statement in Mumbai. Nalco, as the company is known, didn't say whether it would raise a loan or sell bonds. The company aims to spend as much as 50 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) by the end of 2008 to boost bauxite mining, build a 1,200-megawatt power plant and increase the capacity of its aluminum refinery and aluminum smelter, according to the statement. Nalco is also considering proposals to form overseas joint ventures to make aluminum-based products. The company said it had 35.63 billion rupees of surplus cash as of March 31, all of which is deposited with banks. Nalco is studying the construction of an aluminum smelter in Indonesia's South Sumatra province, Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported Sept. 4, citing an official at Indonesia's Ministry of Industry.