ONGC, Oil India ordered to buy big assets overseas

NEW DELHI - India, planning a sovereign wealth fund to help companies compete with China for overseas energy assets, has ordered state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd to speed up purchases starting next month.

"We are urging our companies to get at least one big asset each next fiscal" year, said Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan. "We are looking for producing assets overseas."

China, with $2.4 trillion of reserves and a $300 billion sovereign fund, has outpaced India in the global quest for resources to feed the world's fastest-growing major economies.