Australian government may allow Indian steel and mining companies to borrow from its superannuation fund for their coking coal import and asset acquisition in Australia.
Bill Shorten, minister for employment, workplace relations and financial services and superannuation in Australia in a meeting with steel minister Beni Prasad Verma, said the two governments can work out a mechanism to allow Indian companies to borrow from superannuation fund.
?The superannuation fund in Australia is large and mechanisms can be worked out to give loans from this. However, for any such arrangement to work out, a thorough dialogue between the two governments is necessary,? he said.
The superannuation fund in Australia is a retirement programme that includes pension as well.
It is similar to the Employees? Provident Fund (EPF) in India. Under this programme, the employers in Australia are required to pay 9% of the employees? salaries to the fund.
The Indian steel companies buy around 80% of their coking coal requirements from Australia. To buy this raw material the companies borrow in dollars. If a mechanism to borrow within Australia is in place, the Indian firms can obtain loan easily at a competitive rate.
The companies including government-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), and ICVL (International Coal Ventures) ? a joint venture of SAIL, NTPC, CIL, RINL, NMDC ? are also looking at buying mines in Australia.
SAIL alone imports over 10 mt coking coal from Australia. The companies want the Australian government to help them with verification of mineral properties
Steel secretary PK Misra sought the help of Australian government in verifying that the mineral properties being acquired by Indian companies are encumbrance free. Shorten assured that the the government would look into these matters.