Mumbai: India''s biggest aluminium maker, Hindalco, and Sterlite Industries, are in talks with global firms to separately bid for Canada''s Alcan, newspaper reports cited unnamed sources.

The reports said Sterlite''s parent Vedanta Resources Plc was in advanced talks with global miner Rio Tinto to form a special purpose vehicle to bid for the aluminium major.

London-based Vedanta will likely invest $3-4 billion and Rio Tinto could put in $10-12 billion in the joint venture, the paper said.

Hindalco Industries Ltd., which earlier this year bought Canadian aluminium firm Novelis for $5.9 billion, was also rumoured to be in talks with BHP Billiton for a joint bid, the paper said.

Hindalco refused to comment on speculative reports.

Reports said Rio Tinto and Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro might place separate bids to trump Alcoa''s $28.5 billion hostile bid for Alcan.