Madhu koneru press releases

Titles of press news

• Economic Times Bureau Oct 1, 2010• SRN NEWS.com November 13, 2009• Project Manager NEWS BUREAU Monday, May

03, 2010• Reuters USA edition, JAKARTA, April 15, 2010 • Reuters UK edition, JAKARTA, march 02 2009• Business Daily from THE HINDU group of

publicationsSaturday, Sep 12, 2009

• Bulkmaterialsinternationals, 18 December 2009

Economic Times Bureau Oct 1, 2010

• The rush to own coal assets is leading to innovative alliances. Coal traders are teaming up with utilities like Tata Power, Reliance Power and CESC to jointly scout for overseas coal mines to bring down the cost of acquisition and also speed up the process of buying mines.

• Some of these trading companies are also negotiating with utilities for an equity stake in return for supply of coal. The Singapore-based Middle East Coal, another trading company that has ownership of mines in Indonesia, has been negotiating with major Indian firms for securing a stake.

• In an earlier interaction with ET, Middle East Coal vice-chairman Madhu Koneru said the supply of coal would be finalised for a 10-12 year period to ensure that power producers complete their projects. "It would also keep the prices down as contracted prices would typically be at cost level," said Mr Koneru.

• Demand for imported coal in India, which is widely used by power generators and steelmakers, has soared by about 16% over the past five years and is expected to rise more as companies use more of imported coal instead of Indian coal, due to the high ash content in the local resource.

• The tight demand for coal has inflated the valuations of mines as global players are ready to offer higher prices for a stake in resource assets.

SRN NEWS.com November 13, 2009

• MEC Holdings Chief Executive Madhu Koneru speaks during the APEC CEO Summit in Singapore November 13, 2009. REUTERS/Michael Fiala (SINGAPORE POLITICS BUSINESS)

• We have got the coal resources and we are investing very high capex in Indonesia for accessing the coal. At the same time, there are lots of power companies investing high capexon their power plants. Since we are investing such high capex in Indonesia, we need long-term customers for 15 to 20 years. On the other hand, power companies need 15 to 20 years of coal supplies. These types of deals ensure that the power players concentrate on their core business and we can also concentrate on our core business. From ownership point-of-view, we can have a swap deal which will give confidence to both players. We expect the first of such deals to happen within the next couple of months.

Project Manager NEWS BUREAU Monday, May 03, 2010

•MECCoal, a subsidiary of MEC Holdings (Minerals, Energy & Commodities Holdings) operating out of Southeast Asia, Middle East and Asia, invests in, and manages, large-scale coal projects in Indonesia. The company is developing one of Asia's largest greenfield coalmines in East Kalimantan province of Indonesia. Madhu Koneru discusses the possible synergies between India and Indonesia in the coal industry

• Indonesia has huge resources of coal and it is in close proximity to India. The sulphur and ash content is very low in Indonesian coal compared to the high sulphur and ash content that exists in Indian coal-this is the main technical reason. Also, the political and cultural system in Indonesia and India are similar to each other. Therefore, India should be the ideal partner for Indonesia and India should take advantage of this opportunity. Out of the entire world, India has the potential to be Indonesia's closest partner from business and cultural point of view.

• We have got the coal resources and we are investing very high capex in Indonesia for accessing the coal. At the same time, there are lots of power companies investing high capex on their power plants. Since we are investing such high capex in Indonesia, we need long-term customers for 15 to 20 years. On the other hand, power companies need 15 to 20 years of coal supplies.

• These types of deals ensure that the power players concentrate on their core business and we can also concentrate on our core business. From ownership point-of-view, we can have a swap deal which will give confidence to both players. We expect the first of such deals to happen within the next couple of months.

Reuters USA edition, JAKARTA, April 15, 2010

• MEC's executive vice chairman, Madhu Koneru, said there was potential to expand the 130-kilometre-long railway project, with scope to build as much as 1,000 km of railway in East Kalimantan.

• "We are focusing on the (current) railway project, and that is long-time construction," Koneru said, speaking on the sidelines of an infrastructure conference in Jakarta.

• "Technically yes there is potential (to extend the railway), commercially yes there is potential...we have planned for expanding the railway if it makes logical sense going forward," he said.

• MEC has a licence for a 5,000 hectares coal mine in East Kalimantan and has already finished exploration works, Koneru said. It has close to 2 billion tonnes of coal reserves in the East Kalimantan mine and about 30 percent of production will go to the domestic Indonesian market while 70 percent will be exported to India and China.

• He said production would start about six to eight months before the railway begins operations.• The main customer for the domestic coal supply is Indian state aluminium maker NALCO's (NALU.BO)

captive power plant at the mine which will supply power to NALCO's alumina smelter. The coal-fired power plant will have a capacity of 1,400 megawatts.

• MEC will sell 10 million tonnes a year of sub-bituminous coal to two Indian end-users on 15-year contracts. Tata Power (TTPW.BO) is expected to sign a long-term contract with MEC. [ID:nLDE60J1RU]

• MEC will also sell another 5 million tonnes a year to either Indian or Chinese end-users, and 2 million tonnes on the spot market.

• MEC's planned mine is in an undeveloped part of East Kalimantan, with no road or river connections to a port. It will transport its coal to its port by rail rather than trucking and barging.

• The railway will cross 20 km of swamp which will be treated to take the line and will tunnel through 85-90 metres of mountain

Reuters UK edition, JAKARTA, march 02 2009

• Investment fund is targeting a rail link with a capacity to transport 60 million tonnes of coal a year over the next 10-15 years in East Kutai regency in East Kalimantan on Borneo island, it said in a statement

• "We will work with various mine owners for the transportation of coal and welcome partnership," Madhu Koneru, said in the statement.

• The agreement was signed by Khater Massaad, chief executive of the RAK Investment Authority, and Awang Faroek Ishak, East Kalimantan governor, at an Islamic economic forum in Jakarta.

• Coal production in East Kalimantan accounts for about 57 percent of Indonesia's total coal output which is expected to reach 230 million tonnes.

• Indonesia is the world's top exporter of thermal coal.• RMMI did not give financial details on the planned project but said it aimed to

increase mining capacity to 30 million tonnes per year by 2020 through the project.

• The Bisnis Indonesia newspaper last month quoted the East Kalimantan governor as putting the cost of the project at $600 million

Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publicationsSaturday, Sep 12, 2009

• The large-size power projects announced by various Indian companies seem to have prompted a standalone Indonesian coal miner to come knocking on their doors.

• Middle East Coal (MEC), a joint venture between Trimex Group and the UAE Government-owned RAK Minerals and Metals Investment, has initiated talks with these players to swap equity for coal. The company assures coal supply at $35-$40 a tonne for 15 years. Currently, coal prices are around $50-$55 a tonne.

• MEC is developing a coal mine at East Kalimantan in Indonesia with proven reserves of two billion tonnes at an investment of $1 billion.

• Mr Madhu Koneru, Executive Vice-Chairman, MEC, said production would begin with two million tonnes by the middle of next year and would be ramped up to 15 million tonnes by November 2011.

• “We have floated a tender of $1 billion to develop a coal jetty and rail link of 130 km to transport the coal from the mine. With such huge investments, we thought of forward integration by joining hands with the promoters of large power projects,” he added.

• The company wants to sell 70 per cent of its production to India and the balance to China. • On an average, about 17 million tonnes of coal are needed for a generation capacity of 5,000 MW. Coal accounts

for about 60-70 per cent of the power production cost in India for producers dependent on imports.• Though companies such as Reliance Power, Tata Power and Adani Power have their own mines in Indonesia, MEC

is confident of convincing Indian companies as the price it is offering is quite attractive.• It has managed to offer a lower price compared to others as the rail link being developed will result in savings of

about 50 per cent of transportation costs. • The company is targeting new power projects as existing companies use coal with calorific value of 6300 KCal

while MEC will produce coal with calorific value of 5300 KCal. The stripping ratio of MEC mines is 1:1 (mud to coal), while for most mines it is 8:1, said Mr Koneru.

• MEC has also signed an agreement with Nalco which plans to set up a one million tonne alumina smelter at the coal mine site in Indonesia. Nalco will hold 74 per cent stake in the project while MEL will have 26 per cent equity to provide assured coal supplies. The company is in the process of negotiating the price, he said.

Bulkmaterialsinternationals, 18 December 2009

• MEC to buy into Indian power plants• United Arab Emirates’ Middle East Coal (MEC) plans to buy stakes in India’s power

plants in exchange for long-term coal supply. “India has one of the fastest growing economies but also has a shortage of power supply so we have decided to go ahead with these deals,” MEC vice chairman Madhu Koneru said.

• “We are close to signing contracts with a number of Indian power plants which need coal over the coming 15 years,” he said.

• MEC, a joint venture of UAE-based RAK Minerals and Metals Investments (RMMI) and mining company Trimex, was set up last year to oversee large scale coal-related infrastructure projects in Indonesia.

• In March this year RMMI received a license to build a 150 km rail line to carry coal in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province. The project is estimated to cost US$1B.

• RMMI is expected to provide US$100M of the initial US$600M investment. About US$500M will come from World Bank, other institutions and other partners.

• MEC plans to start shipping 3-5 mtpa of thermal coal by road. Volumes would rise to 17 mt when the rail line is completed in 2012