India’s JSW Steel Limited has paused its planned acquisition of the coking coal assets of Canada-based Teck Resources following the souring of India-Canada diplomatic relations, company sources said on Monday, September 25.
The sources said that “the deal has not been called off”, but both sides are in wait-and-watch mode over how the diplomatic relations between the two countries unfold over the coming days.
JSW Steel Limited has expressed its willingness to acquire a majority stake in the coking coal assets of Teck Resources to ensure raw material security for its domestic steelmaking facilities in India.
However, the deal has been put on hold after Canada accused India of killing a Sikh separatist leader and a Canadian citizen in British Columbia in June this year.
This has triggered a severe diplomatic row between the two countries with both expelling senior diplomats from respective consulates, while the Indian government has temporarily halted the issuing of Indian visas in Canada.
