So much has happened within such a short span of time! The National Company Law Tribunal-initiated insolvency proceedings have led a few of India’s largest steel companies to bid for the debtriddled assets put on the block. Does it mean a morphing is on the anvil in the steel landscape? Dr Susmita Dasgupta, Joint Chief Economist, Joint Plant Committee, Ministry of Steel, tells Madhumita Mookerji, that apart, logistics and information technology appear to be the next business opportunity areas in steel. How? These areas can be used to negotiate capacity rationalisation, increase specialisation and improve margins. Moreover, with the market for graphite expanding hugely, no one seems to be interested in producing for the steel furnaces. Here is the time then to shift towards the induction furnaces, she says. Excerpts from an interview:
What were the key developments in the steel sector in the year that was?
I am not too good at tracking the steel industry over a short term! The movement of prices, the increase or decrease of production do not interest me though these are important things to be interested in! For me, the structural movements of the steel industry become very significant. In other words, I look out for larger movements. For this, the year that has been has gone off in the following manner.
To my mind, the most important element of the steel business in India has been the national Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which has decided to sell the bad loans of the steel companies like Essar and Bhushan. There is clearly a scramble to obtain these bad loans because that means a sure way of consolidation and expansion of business. So Tata Steel is after Bhushan Steels, ArcelorMittal and Liberty House, both England-based companies are bidding for Essar Steel and Essar Steel itself, under a changed name from Mauritius, is bidding for its bust assets in India.
What are the implications from the response to the NCLT insolvency proceedings?
The meaning can only be that the Indian steel industry is going towards mega steel giants with the possibility of large steel conglomerates and cartels. I am not too comfortable with this because cartels are the most certain ways of death for any industry.
What trends do you see emerging in the steel industry, going forward?
Denne historien er fra April 2018-utgaven av Steel Insights.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 2018-utgaven av Steel Insights.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Steel's Net Zero mission
The country’s commitment to achieving Net Zero within a targeted timeframe will now propel its steel sector towards a sustainable future in line with global trends.
Fuel Price Hike, Supply Chain Disruption Hurt Festive Sales
Supply chain disruptions and fuel price hikes have hurt festive sales in a big way as most auto majors posted decline in sales in October.
Seaborne coking coal offers remain range-bound
Seaborne coking coal offers moved in a narrow range in October amid global supply tightness and healthy spot demand.
Global crude steel output down 8% in September
China manufactured 74 mt in September, fall of 21% y-o-y while India’s production went up by 7% to 10 mt.
MOIL embarks on expansion projects
“Even though our country is blessed with manganese ore reserves, we import 50% of the domestic requirement. We have to lower our import dependence and save precious foreign exchange.” Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, Steel Minister
Iron ore handled by major ports down 17% in H1
The 12 major Indian ports handled 27 mt of iron-ore during H1 of 2021, down by 17% from 33 mt recorded for the corresponding period of previous year.
Shrinking China output to boost India exports
“In the third quarter of 2021, the company actively responded to the pressure from external policies, such as production curtailment and dual control system on energy consumption and intensity, as well as coal resource shortage and surging prices.” Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd
Indian Railways' iron-ore handling up 25% in H1
Indian Railways in April-September of 2021 (H1) transported 84 mt of iron ore, up by 25% over 67 mt during April-September 2020.
September crude steel production up 7.2% y-o-y
India’s crude steel production in September 2021 grew 7.2 percent to 9.547 million tons (mt) over September 2020 but was down by 3.2 percent from August 2021 output, provisional steel ministry data showed.
“Five enablers: way forward to sustainable cleaner steel”
Right and scalable technology, appropriate policy guidance by government, access to finance to fund transition, willingness of customers to pay for cleaner products and infrastructure for use of new technologies are the need of the hour for the sustainable and cleaner steel industry, according to Madhulika Sharma, Chief Corporate Sustainability, Tata Steel.
