BOC chairman S.M. Datta (left) with assistant vice-president Pawan Marda in Calcutta on Monday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta, May 24: BOC India will invest around Rs 1,500 crore over the next two-and-a-half years in new units to produce industrial gas.

The company, part of Germany’s Linde Group, is setting up air separation units for Tata Steel, SAIL and Jindal Stainless in eastern India.

It is also building two plants on its own — one in north and the other in western India — to sell industrial gases to individual users. These projects are likely to be completed by the end of 2012.

At its 74th annual general meeting today, the company decided to increase the borrowing limit to Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 750 crore.

S.M. Datta, chairman of BOC India, said the limit was raised to finance the new projects.

The company could raise Rs 1,100 crore to build the plants that are capital intensive.

Most of the money would come as unsecured loan from cash-rich Linde Group. “We will get the loan mainly for the Tata Steel and SAIL projects,” Srikumar Menon, managing director of BOC, said after the AGM.

The company is expecting around 122 million euros (Rs 700 crore) for the two projects. The debt will be in the form of external commercial borrowing, vice-president and company secretary Pawan Marda said.

The German parent owns around 89 per cent in BOC India, which expects a turnover of Rs 1,400-1,500 crore this year.

To reduce expenses and risk, BOC has entered into joint ventures with industrial gas users. The Bellary air separation unit in Karnataka was built as an equal joint venture with JSW Steel for the latter’s use.

No delisting plan

S.M. Datta said Linde had no plans to delist the company from the local stock exchange. “There is no buyback being planned,” he said.

BOC can remain listed on the bourses till its market capitalisation falls below Rs 1,000 crore, or the parent’s holding touches 90 per cent.

Linde had to make an open offer in India when it acquired BOC Plc. It then floated a preferential issue to infuse cash into the company and scale up its holding.