Jindal’s integrated mining and steel project in Bolivia was the largest contract secured by an Indian company in Latin America. The project, which ultimately became a victim of the country's domestic politics, has lessons for Indian companies venturing into Latin America.
Confirming the growing trend in several South American countries, Bolivia expropriated a silver and indium mine operated by a local unit of Canadian firm South American Silver, a move criticized by Ottawa and likely to scare off foreign investors.
Bolivian prosecutors with the support from police and military forces on Friday raided the offices of India’s Jindal in La Paz as part of an investigation for an alleged “breach of contract” following the company’s confirmation it was abandoning the huge iron-ore mining project of El Mutún.
India's Jindal Steel and Power scrapped plans Tuesday to invest 2.1 billion dollars in a Bolivian mining project and blamed the country’s non-friendly business attitude for the deal's collapse.
India's Jindal Steel & Power said on Saturday it was making plans to scrap a 2.1 billion dollars steel project in Bolivia, saying the Bolivian government had not met contract terms that include supply of natural gas for the project.
India’s Jinda Steel & Power's ambitious Bolivian project to mine 20 billion tons of iron ore is at risk after the Bolivian government encashed yet another 18-million dollars bank guarantee from the Indian firm for not meeting contractual terms.