ADVERTISEMENT

ICICI Bank, HDFC Life To Pick Up Stake In A Proposed Oil Refining Joint Venture

The proposed joint venture is aimed at setting up a petroleum refinery in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>ICICI Bank branch exterior. (Source: BQ Prime)  </p></div>
ICICI Bank branch exterior. (Source: BQ Prime)

ICICI Bank Ltd. and HDFC Life Insurance Co. are set to buy stake in the proposed oil refining joint venture between Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. and Chennai Petroleum Corp. Ltd.

The private lender has entered into an agreement to invest in the proposed JV aimed at setting up a petroleum refinery in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, according to ICICI Bank's exchange filing on Wednesday.

While the joint entity for the project is yet to be incorporated, ICICI Bank will hold 10% of the equity shares in the project after its investment.

HDFC Life Insurance Co. also plans to pick up stake in the JV and will hold 11% of the shares in the refinery, the firm said in an exchange filing on Wednesday.

Both IOCL and CPCL will each hold 25% equity stake in the refinery.

The refinery is proposed to have a capacity of 9 million metric tonnes per year, the filing said.

Since the shareholding is at 10%, no additional regulatory clearances will be required for the investment, the bank said in its exchange filing. The bank also said it does not have any obligation to fund the future requirements of the project beyond the initial seed capital of Rs 50,000.

The refinery will produce petroleum and petrochemical products, such as polypropylene.