According to Mr Sheshagiri Rao joint MD and Group CFO of JSW Steel, the steel industry which had taken a big knock during the financial crisis is on the track of recovery.
Mr Rao said that while China has become a net exporter of steel, which may start bring down prices things were looking good on the domestic front. He said that “In India, we are seeing almost close to 6% growth in consumption of steel and at the same time we are also seeing revival in the developed economies too. So I am not very sure about the price increases whether it will go beyond where they are right now.”
Here is a verbatim transcript of Mr Sheshagiri Rao’s exclusive interview on CNBC-TV18.
Q. How do you look at the terrain going here on, do you expect that this quarter itself could see more steel price increases, is the country working to capacity?
A - We are seeing some correction in international prices particularly China where it has become net exporter of steel again in the month of August, so there will be pressure on prices internationally but what is positive is that demand is picking up. In India, we are seeing almost close to 6% growth in consumption of steel and at the same time we are also seeing revival in the developed economies too. We are seeing revival in demand where production is increasing and consumption is improving, so there are some of the positive signs and de-stocking has happened in the steel industry, so people started buying again in the market. We are also seeing revival in autos, so there are a lot of positive signs we are seeing, the production is also cut by 20% internationally across all the continents together. So I am not very sure about the price increases whether it will go beyond where they are right now.
Q. You have brought back your CAPEX plans of 10 million tonne at Vijay Nagar. Is the entire CAPEX plan now as per the original schedule?
A - We have delayed the CAPEX by six months. This project was supposed to be commissioned by October 2010, so we are commissioning now by March 2011. We have restarted our activities, so now it would be delayed by six months compared to the original schedule.
Q . What about the money raising you have bought the permission for USD 1 billion, what’s the timetable and what is the insurance?
A - We are not looking for raising anything in the market. We have already tied up the funding. As far as the QIP program is concerned, we have got an enabling resolution, and if at all we decide to raise any QIP, it would only be for debt reduction. So we haven’t yet decided anything on that.
(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/09/29/MTEzNjk2/Steel_to_hold_current_price_levels_-_JSW_MD.html)
Monday, September 28, 2009
Steel to hold current price levels - JSW MD
0 comments:
Post a Comment