NALCO plans units for new businesses

BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Indian state-run National Aluminium Co plans to set up three subsidiaries to make investments in new businesses, a senior company official said on Friday.

NALCO, India's third-largest aluminium maker with output of 361,262 tonnes in 2008/09, will remain the holding company while investments in other metals and mines, power and foreign projects would be made through the new entities.

"They (subsidiaries) will be formed as and when the need to make investment in equities arises, depending upon the progress of the projects," Finance Director B.L. Bagra said.

"This may happen earliest within two years or can take five years," he said, but did not disclose financial details.

NALCO operates a 960 megawatts thermal power plant at Angul in Orissa, which powers its aluminium smelter there. In recent months, it has also signed an initial agreement with state-owned Nuclear Power Corp to jointly build a nuclear power plant.

It has also planned several overseas ventures including a power plant and smelter in Indonesia.

(Reporting by Jatindra Dash)