Coking coal valuation tricky for Coal India's foreign ambition

The company is scouting for assets in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, USA and Colombia

In its move to secure steady coking coal supply for the steel sector which is stressed with price volatility, world's largest coal company, Coal India, is likely to face challenges in valuation of the assets it wants to either acquire or opt for an offtake commitment.

According to analysts, coking coal prices have doubled at $160 a tonne since the last year resulting in the existing assets being overvalued.

"At this juncture, when coking coal assets' valuations have shot up substantially, valuating them for acquisition or partnership will be very tricky," an analyst with Motilal Oswal said.

In its venture of acquiring coal