  The International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) is discovering
a large number of new hard X-ray sources, many of them being HMXBs. The
identification and spectral characterization of their optical/infrared
counterparts is a necessary step in undertaking a detailed study of these
systems. In a previous paper, we presented spectral analyses and
classifications of six newly discovered INTEGRAL sources. In this paper, we
extend the analysis to IGR J16493-4348. We used the ESO/VLT ISAAC spectrograph
to observe the proposed IR counterpart to the source, obtaining a Ks
medium-resolution spectrum (R = 500) with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) >150.
We classified the source by comparing with published atlases. We spectrally
classified the source as a B0.5-1 supergiant and estimated its interstellar
extinction. We compared the extinction derived from X-ray data with effective
interstellar extinction obtained from our data, discussing the absorption
component associated with the circumstellar environment.
