The Kolkata-headquartered Rs 5,000 crore Visa Group is planning trading of thermal coal in China. The group's Singapore-based trading arm of Visa Resources Pte has already opened a subsidiary in China in this regard.

An international trader of coal, iron ore, pig iron, alumina, bauxite and other such resources, Visa Resources is a prominent supplier of imported thermal and coking coal in India through its subsidiary Visa Comtrade.

According to Mr Siddharth Kasera, General Manager of Visa Comtrade, the group is in active negotiation with Russian miners to source coal through the Eastern Russian port of Vanino and sell the same in Chinese market. A part of the consignment is also expected to be imported to India.

China is already is a major importer of Russian coal which is reportedly similar to the low-ash, high-calorific value South African coal. The trade is expected to increase further in the coming years as major Russian miners such as Mechel are coming up with their own sea port terminals on the Eastern coast.

On the probable Chinese buyers, Mr Kasera said that negotiations were on through the company's local partners in China. “It's (China) a vast and attractive market with buyers ready to pay lucrative price for quality resources,” he added.

According to him, in addition to China, South Korea and Taiwan are also major importers of Russian coal.

According to the company, Visa Resources has also joined the globalCOAL trading platform to take advantage of the growing international demand for resources.

Steel foray

The group's steel foray, Visa Steel, is pursuing expansion projects and is listed in Indian stock markets. The group is also setting up power projects through Visa Power Ltd.

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