(ET)
State Bank of India is creating a policy to lend to coal miners before landmark auctions that would end decades of state monopoly on the fuel, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Long-term offtake contracts assuring demand will be central to any lending decision, the person said, asking not to be identified before terms are finalized. The nation’s biggest bank would prefer a loan tenor closer to five years, the person added.
The planned policy suggests SBI is open to providing some of the financing required to put 41 coal mines with a combined annual production capacity of 225 million tons into private hands. The giant bank has flagged concerns about the sector, and Indian banks are reining in loans to corporate borrowers as the coronavirus pandemic pressures asset quality. SBI’s shares rose 0.8 per cent at 2:44 p.m. in Mumbai, recouping earlier losses of as much as 0.9 per cent.
