Australia has supported the proposal from Indian steel companies to acquire equity stake in coking coal companies there and to acquire coking coal properties. It has also evinced interest in investing in Indian steel companies.

   An official release said here that Australian Federal Minister of Industry, Tourism and Resources  Ian McFarlane gave this assurance when the Indian Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertilisers Ramvilas Paswan in Brisbane on Thursday.

Mr. McFarlane assured all possible help in fast-tracking these ventures of Indian steel companies, which are critical for India's  proposed expansion of steel sector capacity. Despite the worldwide demand for Australian coking coal, Mr. McFarlane assured that there was good potential for Indian companies to invest in Australia. He also assured Australia’s assistance for Indian fertiliser companies to commence operation in Australia when LNG supply becomes available in near future.

Leading PSUs
The proposal for Indian PSUs SAIL, RINL, CIL, NMDC and NTPC to jointly acquire interest in coking coal property in Australia received a fillip with this visit and this proposal has been warmly welcomed by the Australian Government.

Both sides also agreed to explore possibility of sourcing key materials like nickel, ferro manganese and silico manganese from Australia. The delegation also visited key Australian states like Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland which are rich in raw materials required for the steel sector.