Coal India opens e-auctions to foreign buyers; advances BCCL IPO filing

Coal India Limited (CIL) has begun 2026 with key policy, operational, and capital market developments, allowing direct foreign participation in coal sales, releasing provisional production and offtake data, and advancing the public offering process of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).

Coal India Limited (CIL) has approved direct participation of foreign coal buyers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal in its Single Window Mode Agnostic (SWMA) e-auctions, effective 01 January 2026. Earlier, international buyers could access coal only through domestic traders. Under the revised framework approved by the CIL board, registered foreign buyers can bid digitally, make advance electronic payments in United States Dollar (USD) or Indian Rupee (INR), and export coal through designated logistics channels. According to a company official, this step is intended to improve transparency and market access while ensuring protection of domestic coal supply.

Alongside the policy change, CIL has reported provisional coal production and offtake performance for December 2025 and April to December 2025. In December 2025, total production increased 4.6 per cent year on year to 75.7 million tonnes, supported by a 28.2 per cent rise at South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). However, offtake declined 5.2 per cent to 64.9 million tonnes in the same month. For the April to December 2025 period, cumulative production stood at 529.2 million tonnes, lower by 2.6 per cent compared to the previous year, while offtake was 544.7 million tonnes, a 2.2 per cent decline. Performance varied across subsidiaries, with SECL showing strong growth in both production and offtake.

In a separate development, CIL informed stock exchanges that the Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) for Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) was filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE Limited (BSE), and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) on 02 January 2026. The proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) involves an offer for sale of up to 465.7 million equity shares by CIL. The listing remains subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions.

All disclosures were made under Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, 2015.

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