October 2009 ~ Steel Guru

Friday, October 30, 2009

Macroeconomic Indicators - India inflation up by 1.51 pct

1:39 AM Unknown No comments

FE reported that India’s inflation grew by 1.51% as of October 17 on the back of higher food prices, vindicating Reserve Bank's hawkish stance of slowly withdrawing its easy money policy.

The wholesale prices-based inflation stood at 1.21% in the previous week. During the week, tea, mutton and arhar and manufactured food items including edible oil and gur turned expensive.

Projecting inflation to touch 6.5% mark by the end of the current fiscal the RBI in its quarterly monetary policy review on October 27 had taken steps to suck out liquidity from banks.

The apex bank had raised Statutory Liquidity Ratio the amount of deposits that banks are to keep in government securities, cash and gold, by one percentage point to 25%.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/30/MTE4MTAz/Macroeconomic_Indicators_-_India_inflation_up_by_1.51_pct.html)

Narrow HR plate price remain flat on Oct 29

1:38 AM Unknown No comments

GR A
8x1250

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Chennai 0

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur 0

Change is on October 29th as compared to October 28th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service. For registration click or copy the link and paste it to your internet explorer address bar http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/terms_of_use_for_registration.html

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

SAIL BSP gets Rowghat mining lease

10:51 PM Unknown No comments

Bhilai Steel Plant the flagship entity of the Steel Authority of India Limited has been awarded mining lease for the Rowghat deposit F spread over 2028.79 hectares in a pocket between Kanker and Narayanpur districts of Chhattisgarh.

The Mineral Resources Department of Chhattisgarh

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/29/MTE3ODU0/SAIL_BSP_gets_Rowghat_mining_lease.html

TATA Steel Q2 net profit down by 49pct

10:51 PM Unknown No comments

TATA Steel the sixth largest steel maker in the world has posted a 49.49% drop in net profit at INR 902.94 crore in the Q2 following a sharp fall in steel and ferro alloys’ prices. Its total income fell 16.46% to INR 5,692.11 crore.

According to Mr H M Nerurkar MD of TATA Steel,

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/29/MTE3ODUz/TATA_Steel_Q2_net_profit_down_by_49pct.html

Indian steel price index continue to decreased on Oct 27

10:47 PM Unknown No comments

The Indian Long Product Price Index ILPPI decreased by 14 points whereas Indian Flat Product Price Index IFPPI remained flat. The overall Indian Steel Price Index INDSPI decreased by 8 points

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/29/MTE3ODUy/Indian_steel_price_index_continue_to_decreased_on_Oct_27.html

Indian steel price index continues to fall on Oct 26

9:56 PM Unknown No comments

The Indian Long Product Price Index ILPPI drop by 33 points whereas Indian Flat Product Price Index IFPPI down by 21 points. The overall Indian Steel Price Index INDSPI decreased by 27 points

Class 23-Oct 26-Oct Change %

ILPPI 6039 6006 -33 -0.5%

IFPPI 7417 7396 -21 -0.3%

INDSPI 6695 6668 -27 -0.4%

ILPPI - Long Product Price Index
IFPPI - Flat Product Price Index
INDSPI - Indian Steel Price Index

Long Products

Category 23-Oct 26-Oct Change %

PI - TMT 5754 5700 -53 -0.9%

PI - WRC 6525 6517 -8 -0.1%

PI - Angle 5750 5710 -39 -0.7%

PI - Channel 5806 5747 -59 -1.0%

PI - Joist 5422 5394 -28 -0.5%

PI - Product Index

Flat Products

Category 23-Oct 26-Oct Change %

PI - Narrow Plates 7102 7081 -21 -0.3%

PI - Wide Plates 7230 7188 -42 -0.6%

PI - Hot Rolled 7258 7244 -14 -0.2%

PI - Cold Rolled 7956 7921 -35 -0.4%

PI - Galvanized 7890 7882 -8 -0.1%

PI - Product Index

To know more about these indices please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

You can also get ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI as SMS alert on mobile by submitting your details at http://steelprices-india.com/smsalert

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(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

HRC prices in for tumultuous phase

9:55 PM Unknown No comments

The HRC prices are set for an uncertain phase. The wind of change commenced in China when the collapse in domestic price levels by a whopping USD 120 per tonne over a period of 75 days set the tone for a price undercutting.

The impact was all pervasive from Ukraine and Russia to Europe and Middle East as mills were compelled to revise their offers to satiate buoyed buyers eager to postpone buying to eke out maximum reduction.

However in the last 10 days there has been alteration in dynamics as the price debacle in China has stemmed showing marginal correction by upto USD 10 per tonne. The earlier offers of USD 480-490 per tonne, CNF ,Indian port was more borne out of traders taking positions expecting the market to slide further. However the recent rally by steel market borne out of cost compulsions of mills rather than demand resurrection offers have surpassed the threshold of USD 500 per tonne touching USD 510- 515 per tonne , CNF , Indian port.

As a corollary to the above happenings the mills in Ukraine and Russia are in for a breather as the Chinese pressure eases. Mills are adequately booked for November and quoting levels of USD 480-500 per tonne , Fob , Black Sea or USD 540-560 per tonne , CNF , India and European ports. At the same time they are not averse to doling out handsome discount for big size parcel .It is reported that a major Russian supplier has booked a parcel of 30,000 mt at USD 500 per tonne CNF, Indian port recently setting the tone for another round of price cuts as winters sets in diverting volumes for export from domestic market in this region.

The prices seemed poised for certain turbulence as surplus availability from CIS and Ukrainian mills will pressurize the levels. On the other hand traders are likely to play foul with release of material at lower than market price to pressurize mills from pushing prices.

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Plate cuttings prices remain flat at Alang

9:55 PM Unknown No comments

Product Grade Size Change

Ship Scrap Melting Mixed 0

Plate cuttings Rolling 1” 0

Change is on October 26th as compared to October 23rd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service. For registration click or copy the link and paste it to your internet explorer address bar http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/terms_of_use_for_registration.html

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Pencil ingot price movement in major places on Oct 26

9:55 PM Unknown No comments

Pencil ingot

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Kolkata -370

Mandi -647

Raipur -323

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur 0

Ahmedabad -200

Ghaziabad -100

Muzzafarnagar -89

Hyderabad -100

Raigarh -277

Durgapur -185

Nagpur -185

Jamsedpur -277

Jaipur -100

Rourkela 0

Bhiwari -300

Change is on October 26th as compared to October 23rd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service. For registration click or copy the link and paste it to your internet explorer address bar http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/terms_of_use_for_registration.html

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Wide plate price movement on Oct 26

9:54 PM Unknown No comments

PLTS
GR B
12-20x2.5

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Chennai 0

Kolkata -92

Delhi 0

Raipur 0

Kanpur -178

Rudrapur 0

Ahmedabad 0

Indore 0

Bangalore -888

Change is on October 26th as compared to October 23rd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service. For registration click or copy the link and paste it to your internet explorer address bar http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/terms_of_use_for_registration.html

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/28/MTE3NzUw/Wide_plate_price_movement_on_Oct_26.html

Melting scrap price scenario on Oct 26

9:54 PM Unknown No comments

Melting scrap
80:20
HMS

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Chennai 0

Kolkata -277

Mandi -462

Kandla 0

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur 0

Hyderabad 300

Change is on October 26th as compared to October 23rd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service. For registration click or copy the link and paste it to your internet explorer address bar http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/terms_of_use_for_registration.html

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Petroleum Planning Cell inks MoU with IEA

9:51 PM Unknown No comments

Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell a body under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Paris based International Energy Agency on cooperation in oil and gas sector.

Entered in New Delhi recently the MoU provides a cooperative framework

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/28/MTE3NzU0/Petroleum_Planning_Cell_inks_MoU_with_IEA.html

Cochin Shipyard looks partner for dry dock

9:50 PM Unknown No comments

Project Today reported that Cochin Shipyard is reportedly holding discussions with potential partners in the defence sector to jointly build a new dry dock at the yard in Kerala to boost capacity.

A dry dock is a narrow basin that can be flooded to allow a ship to be floated in, then

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/28/MTE3NzUz/Cochin_Shipyard_looks_partner_for_dry_dock.html

Larsen and Toubro sells its stake in Voith Paper Technology

9:48 PM Unknown No comments

Larsen & Toubro announced the sale of its shares in Voith Paper Technology India Limited effective October 1st 2009 to its long term Joint Venture Partner Voith GmbH of Germany.

VPTIL was a 50:50 JV between L&T and Voith Paper GmbH of Germany, providing design, consultancy and other value

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/28/MTE3NzQ4/Larsen_and_Toubro_sells_its_stake_in_Voith_Paper_Technology.html

MSP Steel and Power on expansion spree

9:48 PM Unknown No comments

MSP Steel & Power Ltd has announced that the Company is enhancing its production capacities. The various projects under progress are

1. 350 MTPA Sponge Iron Plant
2. 18 MW Power Plant
3. 383625 MTPA Coal Washery
4. 186450 Sq Ft MSP Colony

The Total project cost in setting up these

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/28/MTE3NzQ3/MSP_Steel_and_Power_on_expansion_spree.html

TATA Motors Q2 net doubles at INR 729 crore

9:48 PM Unknown No comments

TATA Motors reported revenues of INR 7978.82 crores on a stand alone basis for the quarter ended September 30th 2009 of the financial year 2009-10 as compared to INR 7078.85 crores in the corresponding quarter last year a growth of 12.7%.

For the second quarter in a row, the company

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/28/MTE3NzQ2/TATA_Motors_Q2_net_doubles_at_INR_729_crore.html

Welspun Gujarat Q2 sales up by 46pct

9:47 PM Unknown No comments

Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Ltd the flagship Company of the Welspun Group announced its results for the Q2 of FY 2009-10. As per release the company has registered a net profit of INR 140.22 crore for the Q2 ended September 30th 2009 whereas the same was at INR 65.31 crore in the

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/28/MTE3NzQ1/Welspun_Gujarat_Q2_sales_up_by_46pct.html

Monday Market Monitor - India (WEEK 43) - Unimpeded decline

1:12 AM Unknown No comments

Indian domestic steel prices continue to exhibit weakening sentiments last week. The Indian Long Product Price Index ILPPI decreased by 13 points whereas Indian Flat Products Index IFPPI dipped by 64 points. The overall price index INDSPI decreased by 37 points.

Class 16-Oct 23-Oct Change %

ILPPI 6052 6039 -13 -0.2%

IFPPI 7481 7417 -64 -0.9%

INDSPI 6733 6695 -37 -0.6%

ILPPI - Indian Long Product Price Index
IFPPI - Indian Flat Product Price Index
INDSPI - Indian Steel Price Index

Long Products

Category 16-Oct 23-Oct Change %

PI - TMT 5763 5754 -9 -0.2%

PI - WRC 6545 6525 -20 -0.3%

PI - Angle 5752 5750 -2 0.0%

PI - Channel 5826 5806 -20 -0.3%

PI - Joist 5425 5422 -3 -0.1%

PI - Product Index

Flat products

Category 16-Oct 23-Oct Change %

PI - Narrow Plates 7130 7102 -28 -0.4%

PI - Wide Plates 7245 7230 -16 -0.2%

PI - Hot Rolled 7327 7258 -69 -0.9%

PI - Cold Rolled 8076 7956 -120 -1.5%

PI - Galvanized 7911 7890 -21 -0.3%

PI - Product Index

To know more about these indices please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

You can now get ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI as SMS alert on mobile by submitting your details at http://steelprices-india.com/smsalert

1. Input material - Tailspin continues

The prices of input material dipped without any respite for the 3rd consecutive week . Brief periods of correction have promptly paled into another round of decline in the absence of demand for downstream long products.

International scrap prices have played first fiddle with sentiments remaining mellowed as demand of re bars has remained abysmally poor keeping the mills away from the market. Likewise the debacle in Chinese steel prices owing to surplus production and waning demand has kept the scrap prices low as mills scurry from production.

Melting scrap
80:20
HMS

Location Change

Chennai -4%

Kandla 0%

Mumbai -1%

Mandi -5%

Kolkata -5%

Kanpur -2%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Alang

Product Size Change

Ships Mixed 0%

Plate cuttings 1” 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Pencil ingot

Location Change

Mumbai 4%

Mandi -2%

Raipur -3%

Kanpur -2%

Kolkata 0%

Ghaziabad -1%

Muzzafarnagar -3%

Ahmedabad -1%

Rudrapur 1%

Hyderabad 1%

Raigarh -4%

Durgapur -2%

Nagpur -2%

Jamshedpur 0%

Jaipur 0%

Rourkela 0%

Bhiwari 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Pig Iron

Location Change

Raipur 0%

Kolkata -1%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Sponge iron

Location Change

Raipur 2%

Kolkata -13%

Bellary 2%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

2. Long products - Expectant spirits

The long product prices although has not shown any positivity in the recently however the happenings have been less pronounced compared to flat products. The market seems agog with expectation that the prices have hit the bottom as most of the suppliers are already producing below cost and would certainly bid for price hike to survive . Moreover with the culmination of festivities in India the situation is ripe for pick up in construction activities which has remained subdued for long . Massive allocation by the government for housing and infrastructure development in rural India will certainly unleash a period of hiked consumption.

TMT
Fe 415
12mm

Location Change

Chennai -3%

Mumbai 3%

Mandi 0%

Kolkata 0%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Ahmedabad 0%

Indore 2%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

WRC
SWR14
5.5/6

Location Change

Chennai -1%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata 0%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

ANGL
GRADE A
65X65X6

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 3%

Mandi -2%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata 0%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Ahmedabad -1%

Indore 2%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

CNHL
GRADE A
75/40

Location Change

Chennai -3%

Mumbai 3%

Mandi -1%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata 1%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Ahmedabad -1%

Indore 2%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

JSTI
GRADE A
250X125

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 3%

Mandi -2%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata 2%

Delhi -3%

Kanpur -2%

Ahmedabad 0%

Indore 2%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

3. Flat products - Scene becomes murkier

The flat product market has not seen any happenings over the last 4 weeks. The prices are at abject level as the market prices diminishes week on week in the absence of demand. The negativity is having an extended run as buyers are well stocked which refuses to deplete in the absence of end use demand as well as the threat of Chinese imports. It is reported that some steel majors have been doling out sops like cash discount to the tune of INR 1200 -1500 per tonne and kind like Gold coins (3gms) on purchase of 10 tonne and above. The writing on the wall is clear that steel majors would go for price reduction in November .

HRC
Tube
2.5x1250

Location Change

Mumbai 0%

Ludhiana -3%

Kolkata -1%

Delhi -4%

Ahmedabad 0%

Indore 0%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Patra

Location Change

Ludhiana 2%

Mandi -2%

Delhi 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Plates
GRADE A
8X1250/1500

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 0%

Kolkata -1%

Delhi -1%

Kanpur 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Plates
GRADE B
12-20X2500

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 0%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata 0%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Ahmedabad 0%

Indore -1%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

CR
DSK
0.63x1000

Location Change

Chennai -1%

Mumbai 0%

Pune 0%

Kolkata -2%

Delhi -5%

Kanpur 0%

Ahmedabad -1%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

GC
100Gms
0.4

Location Change

Chennai -1%

Mumbai 0%

Kolkata -1%

Delhi -1%

Kanpur -1%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

4. Indian Export Levels - Wilts under Chinese pressure

The rampaging Chinese offers has not only send the offer levels crashing , but soaring buyers expectation for a cheaper booking . The market is in huddle expecting further decline. The ensuing imbroglio eludes clarity and definite direction. The market is highly China centric.

Item Grade Size Delivery Change

PLTS Structural 12-40x2.5 FOB Vizag -30

HDG 100Gms 0.4 FOB Mumbai 0

PPGI Standard RAL 0.4 FOB Mumbai 0

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 16th 2009
Change is in USD per tonne

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details. This is a paid service with subscription fee of INR 60,000 plus ST for 12 months. This will keep you in tune with daily happenings in Indian and global steel markets for steel prices. Tailor made package with restricted access to match your needs at lower prices are also available.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Main Sourse: http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjM1/Monday_Market_Monitor_-_India_%2528WEEK_43%2529_-_Unimpeded_decline.html

Sustaining economic growth momentum is crucial - Mr Basu

1:01 AM Unknown No comments

According to Mr Prahlad Basu chairman of Strategic Management Group, Indian economy is showing sure signs of recovery but sustaining the momentum is important.

Mr Basu said that “In the Indian economy green shoots are no doubt visibly scattered across. Growth is in steel, cement, construction and telecommunications industries, but sustaining the growth momentum is very very important.”

He added that after growing at 9% per year for four years, the economy slowed down to 6.7% in 2008-09 under the impact of the slowdown. In the first quarter of this fiscal, the country grew at 6.1% against over 7.5% a year ago.

Industry however has started picking up, recording a growth of 7.2% in July and 10.4% in August. He further said the companies need continuous upswing from here on and not just the episodic breakthrough

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjQ1/Sustaining_economic_growth_momentum_is_crucial_-_Mr_Basu.html)

OCL seeks incentives of INR 350 crore from West Bengal government

12:59 AM Unknown No comments

BL reported tat Cement manufacturer OCL is seeking tax incentives under a scheme that is no longer in force from the West Bengal government for setting up a one million tonne plant that entails an investment of INR 350 crore.

Mr M H Dalmia president of OCL said that “We are in discussions with the West Bengal Government for setting up a plant”. However he said that the company is seeking Sales Tax and Value Added Tax exemptions under a scheme for manufacturing plants, which is no longer in force.

He added that “Without these exemptions, it will be difficult to compete with other cement manufacturers in the state who have availed such incentives.”

Mr Dalmia said that “We will finance the facility through a mix of bank loans and internal accruals.”

OCL India Ltd has a total annual capacity of 5.35 million tonne. With the new plant, the capacity will go up to 6.35 million tonne.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjQ0/OCL_seeks_incentives_of_INR_350_crore_from_West_Bengal_government.html)

Non bidding for NELP VIII based on technical assessment - BP Plc

12:59 AM Unknown No comments

British giant BP Plc has said that it did not bid for NELP-VIII purely on technical assessment of blocks on offer, an apparent rejection of theories that top energy firms did not bid for India’s largest licensing round because of oil ministry policies.

Mr Robert Dudley MD of BP Plc wrote to Mr Murli Deora Petroleum Minister said that “This decision not to bid in 8th round of New Exploration Licensing Policy was taken purely on the basis of the technical assessment of the blocks.”

About 40% of the 70 oil and gas exploration areas on offer were either old blocks that had not attracted bids in previous rounds, or did not have adequate data thereby dampening the response for them.

Some had attributed the lukewarm response to NELP-VIII, where only 36 blocks received bids, to government's interference in the marketing freedom given to companies discovering gas from areas won under NELP.

Mr Dudley, based out of London wrote to Mr Deora on October 20 that “We continue to maintain our close interest in investing in India’s energy sector at scale.”

Several energy giants like ExxonMobil, Chevron and Hess Corp were initially interested in NELP-V III and participated in promotional roadshows but did not ultimately bid.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjQz/Non_bidding_for_NELP_VIII_based_on_technical_assessment_-_BP_Plc.html)

SAIL donates INR 5 crore for Andhra Pradesh flood relief fund

12:58 AM Unknown No comments

Steel Authority of India Limited on Saturday contributed INR 5 crore for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for taking up rehabilitation works in flood affected districts of the State.

As per report Mr Sai Prathap Union Minister of State for Steel handed over the cheque to Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjQy/SAIL_donates_INR_5_crore_for_Andhra_Pradesh_flood_relief_fund.html)

TATA group set for consolidation again

12:58 AM Unknown No comments

It is reported that a fresh round of consolidation is in the offing at the TATA group. India’s largest private conglomerate is looking to integrate some of its smaller businesses with their respective flagship companies with a view to leveraging the value of the entities and increase cost efficiency.

Two executives familiar with the development said that the earliest of the consolidation could be the merger of TATA Coffee and Mount Everest Mineral Water with TATA Tea; Rallis with TATA Chemicals; TATA Teleservices of Maharashtra with TATA Teleservices and TATA Sponge Iron with TATA Steel.

The executives said that the idea has been discussed in at least two recent board meetings of TATA Sons the holding company of the group and also at the individual company level. The executives added that “The group is looking to appoint external agencies to study the possibilities of mergers or consolidation.”

Asked about the consolidation process a TATA group spokesman said that "TATA Sons does not wish to comment on such speculation."

The fresh round of consolidation would be the second such exercise after Ratan Tata took over chairmanship in 1991. Though the exercise saw the number of companies fall to 96 from over 250, the group still has over 300 subsidiaries in 40 businesses spread across various parts of the globe.

Another source outside the company said that “The consolidation is intended to ring fence businesses from economic instabilities. At the peak of the downturn, the smaller businesses had struggled and many of them posted losses. The new merger initiative will help the major TATA companies scale up operations and enhance bargaining power.”

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjQx/TATA_group_set_for_consolidation_again.html)

Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel to get INR 600 crore for modernization

12:57 AM Unknown No comments

Union Minister of State for Steel said that the Steel Authority of India had decided to develop Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Ltd as a viable unit soon.

Mr A Sai Pratap speaking after inaugurating the Bloom Cater installed at VISL he said that SAIL would sanction INR 600 crore as a Diwali gift to VISL as part of a package to modernize it. He would discuss the VISL modernization plan with Union Minister for Steel Veerabhadra Singh. He added that “If necessary we will take it up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and emphasize the need for modernization of VISL.”

Mr Pratap said that Mr BY Raghavendra Shimoga MP had made a request for INR 5,000 crore for modernization of VISL. He added that “It should not be difficult for SAIL to consider the request.”

Mr Pratap said that “He was confident that VISL the oldest public sector steel plant would soon be on the path of recovery. I am sure VISL will achieve the expected growth when I visit it next time. We will take steps required for the expected growth of VISL. I promise that there will be no dearth of material hereafter for VISL.”

Mr Pratap also thanked Mr BS Yeddyurappa chief minister for immediately clearing the files relating to leasing of land to take up captive mining for VISL in Bellary and Kudremukh.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjQw/Visvesvaraya_Iron_and_Steel_to_get_INR_600_crore_for_modernization.html)

Orissa government to seek people support for projects - Minister

12:48 AM Unknown No comments

Orissa government said that it would seek people’s support for the implementation of mega projects including INR 51,000 crore proposed steel plant to be set up by South Korean firm POSCO.

Though worried over the delay in implementing the POSCO project, the state government said peoples’ support is foremost for setting up any mega project.

The report quoted Mr Raghunath Mohanty steel and mines minister as saying that “Our policy of peaceful industrialization is applicable to all the proposed projects, including the one by POSCO.”

Mr T K Mishra chief secretary said that “POSCO project will be implemented with the support of the people and not against their wishes.”

The state government’s views came a day after the Centre expressed concern over the delay in implementing the POSCO and ArcelorMittal’s proposed steel plants with 12 million tonne per annum capacity each in Orissa.

Mr Mishra who chaired the secretary-level review meeting on POSCO project said that efforts were on to convince the agitating people to support setting up Posco’s greenfield project.

Hopeful of convincing the people in favour of the project, the chief secretary said they would be offered an acceptable rehabilitation and resettlement package to allow setting up of the mega steel plant.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjM5/Orissa_government_to_seek_people_support_for_projects_-_Minister.html)

Steel prices unlikely to go up in November - Mr SK Roongta

12:07 AM Unknown No comments

The country’s largest steel maker SAIL said that steel prices are unlikely to go up in November.

Mr SK Roongta chairman of SAIL speaking on the sidelines of a FICCI conference on Diversifying and Enhancing India’s Steel Consumption said that “Let’s wait and see what happens in November, but it is unlikely that steel prices would go up.”

Mr Roongta said that the domestic steel consumption in 2009 is likely to grow by 9%.

Earlier, while delivering his inaugural address Mr Virbhadra Singh minister of steel urged the industry to let steel be available at affordable prices in order to boost consumption in the semi urban and rural areas.

Mr Singh said that “One of the major reasons for our low per capita steel consumption is the lack of focus on vast rural sectors. For steel to be acceptable, in preference to other replacements, the common man must find that it is affordable and is cost effective. In this regard, the stability of price of steel in the market plays an important role steel producers must keep this aspect in mind.”

Mr Singh also urged the industry to focus on improving distribution in the remote and rural areas. He said that “If steel items of mass consumption were easily available in the villages then people would not have gone in favour of wood, cement or stone for construction material.”

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjM4/Steel_prices_unlikely_to_go_up_in_November_-_Mr_SK_Roongta.html)

BOC India and TATA Steel ink contract

11:07 PM Unknown No comments

BOC India Ltd has informed the BSE that the company has signed a long term contract with TATA Steel for supply of over 4,000 tonnes per day of gaseous oxygen, nitrogen and argon to meet the demand to be generated from the three million tonne per annum of expansion of steel making capacity currently in progress at the Jamshedpur plant.

For this purpose, BOC India will commission a 2,550 tonne per annum air separation unit at the plant. As part of the contract, BOC India will immediately acquire and operate three ASUs owned by TATA Steel for supply of gases to the Jamshedpur works. In addition to meeting TATA Steel's gas requirements, the plant will also produce liquid products to meet the growth in merchant markets throughout India.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjM3/BOC_India_and_TATA_Steel_ink_contract.html)

SAIL BSP rolls ultra high strength plates for space vehicles

11:07 PM Unknown No comments

Bhilai Steel Plant has successfully rolled Ultra High Strength Special Steel Plates of 9.5 mm thickness for the first time successfully in its Plate Mill on October 21st 2009.

The slabs for these plates were produced at Mishra Dhatu Nigam in Hyderabad. The rolled plates will be used for manufacturing the main body of India’s indigenous space vehicles.

It is worth mentioning that special grade and quality plates for use in manufacturing hull of India’s aircraft carrier warships and submarines as also for windmills of Suzlon are being produced by Bhilai Steel Plant. Plates from Bhilai’s Plate Mill are also used for manufacturing boilers for hydro-electric projects, heavy machinery equipment and as base for heavy construction including platforms and bridges, including bridges on the the Jammu-Udhampur rail link.

Manufacturer of widest and thick plates in the country, Bhilai also exports plates to other countries. As part of its modernisation programme, Bhilai has installed a new slab caster and a second set of RH Degasser and Ladle Furnace in the secondary refining facilities of its Steel Melting Shop II.

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/26/MTE3NjM2/SAIL_BSP_rolls_ultra_high_strength_plates_for_space_vehicles.html

Narrow HR plate price remain flat on Oct 23

12:33 AM Unknown No comments

GR A
8x1250

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Chennai 0

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur 0

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 22nd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Sponge iron price drop in Raipur on Oct 23

12:32 AM Unknown No comments

Sponge iron

Location Change

Kolkata 0

Raipur -200

Raigarh 0

Rourkela 0

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 22nd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

GC (HDG) price drop in Delhi on Oct 23

12:32 AM Unknown No comments

GC
100Gms
0.40

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Chennai 0

Kolkata 0

Delhi -462

Ludhiana 0

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur 0

Bangalore 0

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 22nd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Oil falls below USD 81 as dollar rises

12:32 AM Unknown No comments

Reuters reported that oil slipped below USD 81 as a stronger dollar encouraged investors to lock into profits from a 12 month high hit the previous day.

As per report, US crude oil futures fell 68 cents to USD 80.69 per barrel by 1359 GMT having dipped as low as USD 79.90. London Brent

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/24/MTE3NDg5/Oil_falls_below_USD_81_as_dollar_rises.html

ARCJ partners with IDEA JWT and TactiX Strategic Consulting for the provision of marketing and PR services

12:31 AM Unknown No comments

IDEA JWT and TactiX Strategic Consulting have recently signed an agreement with Al Rajhi Cement Jordan to become their official outsourced advertising and public relations agencies respectively.

The joint agreement entails the implementation of the developed strategic communication plan

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/24/MTE3NDg4/ARCJ_partners_with_IDEA_JWT_and_TactiX_Strategic_Consulting_for_the_provision_of_marketing_and_PR_services.html

Gulf States to spend more than USD 100 billion on rail projects

12:31 AM Unknown No comments

Over the past few years the world has looked on in amazement as the unprecedented amount of investment in rail projects continues to grow at astonishing rates in the Middle East.

Owing to the boom in population and increased traffic on the roads, governments are recognizing the need for

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/24/MTE3NDg3/Gulf_States_to_spend_more_than_USD_100_billion_on_rail_projects.html

Mr Abboud calls for gas supply from Egypt and Syria

12:31 AM Unknown No comments

The Daily Star cited Mr Fadi Abboud president of the association of industrialists as saying that the quickest solution for providing energy intensive factories with natural gas from Egypt is to convince the latter and Syria to pump additional volume of gas.

He asked the government to find

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/24/MTE3NDg2/Mr_Abboud_calls_for_gas_supply_from_Egypt_and_Syria.html

Non oil exports tripled - Mr Ahmadinejad

12:30 AM Unknown No comments

Mehr News Agency cited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad president of Iran as saying that Iranian exports of non oil goods in the past 4 years has tripled and predicted that exports will reach USD 50 billion in the next 4 years

The president expressed his appreciation and gratitude towards 48 exporters

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/24/MTE3NDg1/Non_oil_exports_tripled_-_Mr_Ahmadinejad.html

Iran international oil bourse next week

12:30 AM Unknown No comments

Mehr News Agency reported that Iran international oil bourse will come on stream on October 26th 2009 at Kish Island.

Mr Ali Akbar Hashemian MD of Iran Mercantile Exchange said that “Iran Mercantile Exchange’s international exchange hall of crude, oil products and petrochemical

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/24/MTE3NDg0/Iran_international_oil_bourse_next_week.html

Plate cuttings prices remain flat at Alang

12:29 AM Unknown No comments

Product Grade Size Change

Ship Scrap Melting Mixed 0

Plate cuttings Rolling 1' 0

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 22nd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Steel joist (Beam) prices drop in Delhi and Rudrapur on Oct 23

12:29 AM Unknown 1 comment

JSTI
GR A
250X125

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Chennai 0

Kolkata 0

Delhi -936

Mandi 0

Raipur 0

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur -200

Ahmedabad 0

Indore 0

Bangalore 0

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 22nd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com

Steel light channel prices update on Oct 23

12:29 AM Unknown No comments

CHNL
GR A
75/100

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Chennai 0

Kolkata 0

Delhi 0

Mandi 0

Raipur 0

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur -100

Ahmedabad -225

Indore 0

Bangalore 0

Change is on October 23rd as compared to October 22nd 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com

Indian steel price index continues to drop on Oct 21

9:50 PM Unknown No comments

The Indian Long Product Price Index ILPPI continued to fall by 14 points whereas Indian Flat Product Price Index IFPPI went down by 19 points. The overall Indian Steel Price Index INDSPI also went down by 16 points

Class 20-Oct 21-Oct Change %

ILPPI 6044 6031 -14 -0.2%

IFPPI 7479 7460 -19 -0.3%

INDSPI 6728 6711 -16 -0.2%

IPPI - Long Product Price Index
IFPPI - Flat Product Price Index
INDSPI - Indian Steel Price Index

Long Products

Category 20-Oct 21-Oct Change %

PI - TMT 5756 5735 -21 -0.4%

PI - WRC 6537 6525 -12 -0.2%

PI - Angle 5737 5737 0 0.0%

PI - Channel 5816 5794 -21 -0.4%

PI - Joist 5414 5429 15 0.3%

PI - Product Index

Flat Products

Category 20-Oct 21-Oct Change %

PI - Narrow Plates 7130 7116 -15 -0.2%

PI - Wide Plates 7241 7236 -5 -0.1%

PI - Hot Rolled 7327 7312 -14 -0.2%

PI - Cold Rolled 8071 8025 -45 -0.6%

PI - Galvanized 7904 7890 -14 -0.2%

PI - Product Index

To know more about these indices please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

You can also get ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI as SMS alert on mobile by submitting your details at http://steelprices-india.com/smsalert

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

More Sourse: http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQx/Indian_steel_price_index_continues_to_drop_on_Oct_21.html

Special package for tracking steel pipe prices in India

9:49 PM Unknown 2 comments

Whether you are procurement in charge of a construction project, building contractor, product manager, a raw material seller in equipment business etc pipe is big ticket purchase item.

At www.steelprices-india.com we felt the need to monitor the transaction prices of Black and Galvanized ERW pipes in the full range of sizes from ½” to 6” to facilitate a prudent purchase by providing realistic price information.

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Size Grade

1/2" Heavy

3/4" Heavy

1" Heavy

1 1/4" Heavy

1 1/2" Heavy

2" Heavy

2 1/2" Heavy

3" Heavy

4" Heavy

5" Heavy

6" Heavy

B. GI Pipe

Size Grade

1/2" Medium

3/4" Medium

1" Medium

1 1/4" Medium

1 1/2" Medium

2" Medium

2 1/2" Medium

3" Medium

4" Medium

5" Medium

6" Medium

The price information is provided from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Mandi, Ahmedabad, Indore, Mumbai, Bangalore and Raipur on a daily basis.

This is a paid service with annual subscription fee of USD 600 or INR 30,000 + Service Tax

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details. Contact No. 0091 124 4048993

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTUx/Special_package_for_tracking_steel_pipe_prices_in_India.html

RNL CMD appeals to workers to abstain from strike

9:49 PM Unknown No comments

BL reported that Mr PK Bishnoi CMD of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, appealed to the employees of VSP and Visakhapatnam Steel Workers’ Union not to go on strike on November 4.

Responding to the notice for strike while it was being served by the recognized union, he stated that the world and Indian economy was just recovering from global meltdown and recession and it would be a retrograde step to go on strike at this juncture.

Mr. Bishnoi also emphasized to the union leaders that the strike by workers would send wrong signals and dampen motivation of the expansion activities, particularly when 6.3 million tonne expansion project is in full swing with most of INR 12,000 crores already committed.

He said that “VSP is progressing better than some of the other brown field expansion units. Any delay due to strike would escalate the cost and delay further the commissioning of these expansion units. This would be detrimental to the financial health of the VSP, which needed to generate huge investing funds for further expansion as well.”

He added that “The year 2009-10 has been considered for VSP as Year of Production and any setback due to strike would have direct and indirect negative impact.”

The wage revision talks for employees of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant by the National Joint Committee for Steel held in New Delhi remained inconclusive on Wednesday. There could not be any consensus over DA merger due to differences among the central trade unions.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTUw/RNL_CMD_appeals_to_workers_to_abstain_from_strike.html)

State award for Salem Steel Plant

9:48 PM Unknown No comments

BL reported that Steel Authority of India Limited’s Salem Steel Plant received the Corporate Social Responsibility Award from the government of Tamil Nadu for the year 2008-09.

Mr BB Singh ED SSP received the award from Mr MK Stalin deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu at a function held in Chennai recently.

The award comprised a cash prize of INR 500,000 and a certificate.

The plant had spent a sum of INR 1.08 crore for its CSR initiatives during the year 2008-09.

It had undertaken a number of activities in the areas of healthcare, education, infrastructure and women empowerment in the peripheral villages.

Medical camps were organised in the surrounding villages in association with the panchayat administrations, providing free medical check-ups and medicines besides extending further treatment at the plant’s hospital.

Sanitation facilities, school buildings with library, building for Anganwadi and special school for child labour, overhead water tanks, community buildings and other infrastructural facilities were constructed as a part of the CSR initiatives in the model steel village, Tirumalaigiri.

As a part of the women’s empowerment program, the plant conducted multi-skilled tailoring and garment industry training through the Sona College of Technology.

The plant also conducts annual sports meet and inter school competitions.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQ5/State_award_for_Salem_Steel_Plant.html)

Pencil ingot price movement in major places on Oct 21

9:48 PM Unknown No comments

Pencil ingot

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Kolkata -92

Mandi 0

Raipur -92

Kanpur 0

Rudrapur 0

Ahmedabad 0

Ghaziabad 0

Muzzafarnagar 0

Hyderabad 0

Raigarh -647

Durgapur 0

Nagpur -92

Jamshedpur -92

Jaipur 400

Rourkela -46

Bhiwari 400

Change is on October 21st as compared to October 20th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Orissa steel project not deferred - ArcelorMittal

9:48 PM Unknown No comments

BS reported that ArcelorMittal has clarified that it has not deferred its Orissa plan of setting up a 12 million tonne green field steel plant at Patna in Keonjhar district by two years as speculated in different circles.

As per report, ArcelorMittal has requested the state government to expedite the processing of its application for issue of prospecting license over patches of iron ore bearing area in Keonjhar-Sundergarh belt and has assured that it would submit the detailed project report for the INR 40,000 crore steel projects soon.

Mr Ashok Dalwai secretary, steel and mines department of the Orissa government said “ArcelorMittal has reaffirmed its commitment to the Orissa project and thanked the state government for its support.

Mr Sanak Mishra CEO of Greenfield projects (India) of ArcelorMittal admitted that the progress of the project has been slower than expected due to various procedural reasons. However he added that “The company has requested the state government to proceed with the land acquisition process and approve all formalities. This include issuing notification under 4 (1), 6 (1) and 7 (1) for 8 villages where Gram Sabhas have been conducted successfully.”

Similarly, it has urged the Orissa government to start the formalities for conducting Gram Sabha in the rest villages within the site area. It may be noted, out of the 15 villages where Gram Sabhas are required to be held, the process has been completed in 8 villages and steps are being taken for issue of notification under 4 (1) and 6 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act in these villages. The company requires 7800 acres for its Orissa project.

Sources said, the government has initiated steps for the formation of a JV between the state owned Orissa Mining Corporation and ArcelorMittal for supply of iron ore to the project till it is allotted captive mines. The company had earlier applied to the government for such a joint venture mechanism with OMC. The proposal will be sent to the finance and law department for vetting before the JV is formed.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa government for setting up of a 12 million tonne steel plant at Patna tehsil in Keonjhar district. But the project has not made any progress with the company not filing its DPR yet and the locals opposing the land acquisition process.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQ3/Orissa_steel_project_not_deferred_-_ArcelorMittal.html)

Know domestic steel prices in India on daily basis

9:47 PM Unknown No comments

A steel producer, user or trader, however big or small, is always concerned about steel prices as steel is normally a big ticket item, but there is no bench mark available to steel buyers to compare their transaction prices. Steel has been very volatile in last 11 months and has effected many users in a very severe way making it all the more important to track the prices and trends.

www.steelprices-india.com is a new portal that provides domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in India on a regular basis 5 days a week.

In addition, FOB levels for commonly exported steel products from major exporting nation Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and China are also available on weekly basis to give international trends.

This would assist persons, including steel makers, traders, users, analysts and others, who are connected with industry in some way to asses the steel pricing trends and utilize them in their day to day working to take considered decisions.

Benchmark products at select locations cover the entire basket of garden variety of steel products including input material for steel making and processing. The product covered include iron ore, sponge iron, pig iron, scrap, pencil ingot, billets, rebars, sections, HR, plates, CR and HDG.

The locations are Agra, Alang, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Barbil, Bellary, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Indore, Jallandhar, Kandla, Kanpur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh, Mumbai, Muzzafarnagar, New Delhi, Pune, Raipur and Rudrapur.

All these features are accessible only to registered user who is provided with a login id and password after payment is received. To know more about the service, please logon to the web site and click on “Features”, “Subscription” and if you like the services on “Registration”.

This is a paid service with subscription fee of INR 60,000 plus ST for 12 months. This will keep you in tune with daily happenings in Indian and global steel markets for steel prices. Tailor made package with restricted access to match your needs at lower prices are also available.

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQ2/Know_domestic_steel_prices_in_India_on_daily_basis.html

India steel ministry plans to sell shares in SAIL

9:47 PM Unknown No comments

It is reported that India's steel ministry has approved a plan to sell shares in state run Steel Authority of India Limited to help fund the firm's expansion and cut the government deficit.

The two phased sale would be a mix of a government stake sale and an issue of fresh shares by the company.

The report comes as the government considers minority stake sales in various state run firms from NTPC to miner Manganese Ore India to raise funds to cut the hefty fiscal deficit. The stake sale and issue of fresh shares in SAIL, India's largest steel producer by volume, would cut the government's holding to around 68% from 85.82%.

In the first phase, the government would sell 5% of its shareholding while SAIL will issue an additional 5% equity, the report said. The government plans to sell a total of 10% of its holding, while the company is expected to issue additional shares worth 10% of the expanded equity base.

The amount of money to be raised from the share sale would be fixed after cabinet gave its approval. The timing of the share sale would be announced later.

SAIL plans to raise its annual hot metal production capacity to 23.5 million tonnes by the financial year ending March 2012 from the current 14.6 million tonnes. The steel ministry official said SAIL will use the share sale money to partly fund its expansion.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQ1/India_steel_ministry_plans_to_sell_shares_in_SAIL.html)

RINL worker union threatens stir on inconclusive wage revision talks

9:46 PM Unknown No comments

The wage revision talks for employees of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant by the National Joint Committee for Steel held in New Delhi remained inconclusive on Wednesday. There could not be any consensus over Dearness Allowance merger due to differences among the central trade unions.

Mr V Dhanaraju deputy general secretary of Visakha Steel Workers’ Union said “We insisted on 78.2% DA merger with basic while the INTUC expressed its willingness for 68.8%.”

Visakha Steel Workers’ Union which recently conducted a strike ballot to find out mood among the employees on wage revision and other demands, served the strike notice under sub section 22 of ID Act to Mr PK Bishnoi Chairman and Managing Director of VSP recently. The notice was signed by Mr D Adinarayana union president and Mr N Rama Rao general secretary and copies were addressed to the VSP Directors and the Joint Commissioner of Labour.

The notice points out that the new wage agreement for the steel workers is already 34 months overdue and still there is no sign of settlement in sight.

The National Joint Council of Steel is not meeting frequently to end the stalemate. The union in the notice insisted on merger at existing rate of 78.2% DA with basic pay in line with other public sectors, retain existing rates of increments, sanction minimum guaranteed benefit of 28% and five years settlement period.

Mr V Dhanaraju VSWU deputy general secretary said the unions who are part of the recognized union had agreed to leave other issues like fringe benefits, other allowances such as night shift allowance, local transport, LLTC and LTC matters to be discussed and settlement on a specific time limit after memorandum of understanding is signed.

In response to overwhelming support during the strike ballot, the recognized union stated that it had served the strike notice as there was no other alternative after the dilly dallying tactics resorted to by the authorities concerned.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQ0/RINL_worker_union_threatens_stir_on_inconclusive_wage_revision_talks.html)

PPSS opposing visit of South Korean president to lay foundation stone

9:46 PM Unknown No comments

BS reported that Mr Abhay Sahoo president of POSO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti said that South Korean President Mr Lee Myung-bak would face a strong protest if he visits the site earmarked for the proposed steel plant of POSCO India in January.

Mr Sahoo said thousands of people facing displacement would jointly oppose the Korean President’s visit and would not allow him to lay the foundation stone of the proposed steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district.

He said that “A mass movement will be launched on the day of arrival of Lee. Besides, thousands of faxes will be sent to the South Korean embassy urging the president to cancel the Orissa visit.”

He added that “The proposed visit of Lee to Orissa will be an opportunity for us to highlight the matter in international forum.”

PPSS has been opposing establishment of the steel plant in an area spread over three gram panchayats of Jagatsinghpur since the State government signed a memorandum of understanding with Posco in June, 2005. As a result, the company has not been able to take possession of any land for the steel plant project so far.

Mr Lee, who is scheduled to visit India as a guest for the Republic Day celebrations in January, is expected to come to the state to attend the proposed ‘ground breaking’ function of POSCO’s project near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQz/PPSS_opposing_visit_of_South_Korean_president_to_lay_foundation_stone.html)

SAIL pays INR 461 crore as final dividend to government

9:45 PM Unknown No comments

Hon’ble Union Minister for Steel Mr Virbhadra Singh, on behalf of Steel Authority of India Limited, handed over a cheque for INR 460.81 crore to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh towards final dividend to the Government of India for FY’09.

Present on the occasion were Secretary (Steel) Mr PK Rastogi and SAIL Chairman Mr SK Roongta.

The total dividend paid by SAIL to its shareholders for FY ’09 amounting to INR 1,073.9 crore is equivalent to 26% of the company's paid up equity capital of INR 4,130.4 crore. The Government of India holds 85.82% of the paid up equity capital of SAIL.

SAIL had paid interim dividend at the rate of 13% of paid-up equity amounting to INR 536.95 crore in February 2009, of which the Government’s share of dividend was INR 460.81 crore. The Government of India’s dividend share for FY ’09 thus works out to INR 921.62 crore, besides dividend distribution tax of INR 181 crore.

SAIL has regularly and consistently been paying dividend to its shareholders since 2004-05. During the last three years, SAIL made total dividend payouts amounting to INR 3,883 crore, equaling 94% of its paid-up capital. Out of this, payment to Government of India was INR 3,332 crore, besides dividend tax of INR 638 crore.

SAIL’s contributions to the national exchequer (towards excise and custom duties, corporate tax, dividend, dividend tax, sales tax, royalties, etc.) during 2008-09 has been to the order of over INR 12,395 crore.

Despite global economic slowdown severely impacting the steel industry from the second half of 2008-09, SAIL recorded the highest-ever turnover of INR 48,681 crore, earned profit before tax of INR 9,403 crore and profit after tax of INR 6,175 crore in 2008-09. SAIL’s net worth as on 31st March ’09 stood at INR 27,984 crore

Sourse From: http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/23/MTE3MTQy/SAIL_pays_INR_461_crore_as_final_dividend_to_government.html

Edwards install steel degassing system at Shyam Forgings

9:30 PM Unknown No comments

Edwards has won an order worth more than GBP 200,000 for its new generation steel degassing system in India. This is the first system of its kind in the country and has been installed at Shyam Forgings Pvt in New Delhi.

It is being used to perform Vacuum Oxygen Decarburizing in a production environment and offers potential energy cost savings of more than 90 per cent over traditional steam ejector systems.

The single steel degassing module is being used to run the Vacuum Degassing and VOD processes to produce large degassed and decarburized castings of up to 30 tonnes for Shyam Forging’s customers. The customers then use the castings to produce large machinery components for the power generation and industrial markets across Asia.

Both ultra low carbon steels (less than 0.02% carbon by weight) and low carbon stainless steels are processed through the VOD system in up to 13 ton melts for subsequent casing and machining at customers’ facilities.

Edwards’ dry pumping technology enables users to produce higher quality products with significantly reduced operating/energy costs. At the same time customers are able to improve their environmental impact and carbon footprint through reducing CO2 emissions, water effluent and energy use.

Mr Vikrant Sanglikar country head for South Asia of Edwards said that “Global demand for steel is growing rapidly and we are delighted to have completed our first commercial VOD processing installation in India. The successful demonstration of this vacuum decarburizing process using our dry pumping systems will allow us to confidently move forward into the larger VOD based process applications and address a growing market need.”

Mr Nitin Agrawal MD of Shyam Forging said that “The Edwards system was installed after extensive product and preproduction testing at our plant throughout the year and we are very impressed with the results so far. We’re now able to produce higher quality steels and in larger quantities to better serve our customers.”

Sourse From: http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTc2/Edwards_install_steel_degassing_system_at_Shyam_Forgings.html

Pipavav Shipyard wins USD 111.8 million order

9:30 PM Unknown No comments

Private sector shipbuilder Pipavav Shipyard said it has bagged a contract worth USD 111.84 million from ONGC for construction and supply of 12 vessels.

Pipavav Shipyard in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange said that the company has bagged an order for the construction and supply of 12 offshore support vessels from ONGC.

The filing added that under the contract, ONGC has also reserved the right to place order for spares of up to USD 1.76 million for the OSVs.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTgw/Pipavav_Shipyard_wins_USD_111.8_million_order.html)

INDSPI - SENSEX for domestic steel prices in India

9:29 PM Unknown No comments

Amidst the currently prevailing volatile and speculative steel price scenario in India, SteelGuru.com has started the much needed barometer to track and measure the price movements on daily basis.

In order to provide an index for steel prices, we call it SENSEX for steel, SteelGuru.com decided to work on both long products and flat products for respective category indices as also a composite one for steel. We call them ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI and have started releasing these indices with effect from July 1st 2008, after taking June 30th 2008 as base.

ILPPI is based on daily market prices of three benchmark products rebars, wire rod and sections whereas IFPPI is based on HRC, plates, CR and HDG. These indices have been built considering their respective weights in the composite categories as also in the shares of sales in the important markets.

The pricing input is from www.steelprices-india.com, which publishes market transaction prices of benchmark products among select locations 5 days a week.

These price indices outline the way domestic steel market is moving day by day and will help producers, agents in the supply chain, steel buyers, bankers and analysts in their respective businesses.

To know more, please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

You can also get ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI as SMS alert on mobile by submitting your details at http://steelprices-india.com/smsalert

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTc5/INDSPI_-_SENSEX_for_domestic_steel_prices_in_India.html

Sponge iron price drop in Raigarh

9:29 PM Unknown No comments

Sponge iron

Location Change

Kolkata 0

Raipur 0

Raigarh -200

Rourkela 0

Change is on October 20th as compared to October 19th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Morgan Stanley assigns Overweight rating for JSW Steel

9:29 PM Unknown No comments

ET reported that Morgan Stanley has recommends Overweight rating on JSW Steel with a target price of INR 1,046.

Steel prices look firm even though the Street seems to expect a sustained correction. JSW's strong growth prospects are based on solid and timely volume growth and process improvements and so have few risks. Morgan Stanley expects 35% CAGR in steel output and 120% CAGR in EPS in FY09-FY 12.

Negative earnings impact of some hardening of coal and iron ore prices should be counteracted by expanding scale and growing self-sufficiency in power and coke. Despite the recent run-up , the stock price may have some more steam, especially given its valuations of 6.9x and 5.8x based on our FY10 and FY11 EV/EBITDA, which look particularly attractive in view of the EBITDA CAGR forecast of 43% in FY 09-FY 12.

For every 1% change in steel prices, FY10E EPS may change by 5%. Morgan Stanley expects sales volume CAGR of 37% in FY09-FY 12. Uptrend may act as a negative factor for earnings performance. With progress in the next capacity addition plan, steel prices may fall more sharply and for longer than we expect. Higher raw material costs, sustained pressure on balance sheet and cash flows, may lead to a delay in project execution.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTc3/Morgan_Stanley_assigns_Overweight_rating_for_JSW_Steel.html)

Special package for tracking steel pipe prices in India

9:28 PM Unknown No comments

Whether you are procurement in charge of a construction project, building contractor, product manager, a raw material seller in equipment business etc pipe is big ticket purchase item.

At www.steelprices-india.com we felt the need to monitor the transaction prices of Black and Galvanized ERW pipes in the full range of sizes from ½” to 6” to facilitate a prudent purchase by providing realistic price information.

A. Black Pipe

Size Grade

1/2" Heavy

3/4" Heavy

1" Heavy

1 1/4" Heavy

1 1/2" Heavy

2" Heavy

2 1/2" Heavy

3" Heavy

4" Heavy

5" Heavy

6" Heavy

B. GI Pipe

Size Grade

1/2" Medium

3/4" Medium

1" Medium

1 1/4" Medium

1 1/2" Medium

2" Medium

2 1/2" Medium

3" Medium

4" Medium

5" Medium

6" Medium

The price information is provided from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Mandi, Ahmedabad, Indore, Mumbai, Bangalore and Raipur on a daily basis.

This is a paid service with annual subscription fee of USD 600 or INR 30,000 + Service Tax

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details. Contact No. 0091 124 4048993

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTcy/Special_package_for_tracking_steel_pipe_prices_in_India.html

TATA Motors buys remaining 79pct stake in Hispano

9:28 PM Unknown No comments

Reuters reported that TATA Motors has acquired the remaining 79% stake in Spain's Hipnao.

TATA which had a 21% stake in the Spanish bus and coach maker since 2005 said that it acquired the stake exercising its call option through mutual agreement with the other stake holder Investalia SA.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTc1/TATA_Motors_buys_remaining_79pct_stake_in_Hispano.html)

Pencil ingot price movement in major places on Oct 20

9:27 PM Unknown No comments

Pencil ingot

Location Change

Mumbai 0

Kolkata 0

Mandi -462

Raipur 0

Kanpur -178

Rudrapur 844

Ahmedabad 0

Ghaziabad 0

Muzzafarnagar -355

Hyderabad 200

Raigarh 0

Durgapur 0

Nagpur

Jamshedpur 0

Jaipur 0

Rourkela -92

Bhiwari 0

Change is on October 20th as compared to October 19th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

To know exact prevailing steel prices in India in 29 locations on daily basis, subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com Please note that this is a paid service.

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTc0/Pencil_ingot_price_movement_in_major_places_on_Oct_20.html

Work begins on oil evacuation from sunken MV Black Rose

9:27 PM Unknown No comments

BS reported that the work has finally started on evacuation of oil from the sunken Mongolian vessel Black Rose, 40 days after it capsized near the Paradeep port on the eastern coast.

As per report seven personnel of Resolve Marine Group which was awarded the contract to retrieve oil from the sunken vessel visited the site of the mishap on Monday along with the PPT officials to conduct survey work. The team of Resolve Marine Group and the PPT officials are making efforts to locate the oil tank of the sunken vessel.

Mr Biplav Kumar deputy chairman of PPT said that “The team has visited the spot and started their preparatory and survey work. Seven personnel of the US-based firm have been pressed into service while PPT would provide divers and marine personnel to retrieve oil from the vessel.”

He added that PPT has received 75% of the equipment from the US based firm and we expect to receive the remaining equipment shortly.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTcz/Work_begins_on_oil_evacuation_from_sunken_MV_Black_Rose.html)

Prakash Industries Q2 profit up by 40pct

9:26 PM Unknown No comments

Prakash Industries engaged in steel, mining and power businesses reported a 40% growth in net profit at INR 67.80 crore for the second quarter ended September. However its net sales of the company fell to INR 377.43 crore in the latest quarter from INR 474.45 crore of the same period last year.

Prakash Industries in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange said that for the half year ended September 30th 2009, the company posted a net profit of INR 126.39 crore up by 9.67% as compared to INR 115.24 crore of the same period last fiscal.

Mr VP Aggarwal CMD of Prakash Industries said that "We attribute this strong performance to the highest ever production volumes achieved by us in our steel operations.”

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTcx/Prakash_Industries_Q2_profit_up_by_40pct.html)

Essar Steel pulls out of race with JSPL for Rocklands

9:26 PM Unknown No comments

Bloomberg reported that Essar Group withdrew from a bidding contest with Jindal Steel & Power Ltd for Australian coal explorer Rocklands Richfield Ltd.

Rocklands has written to Essar asking why it’s dropping the AUD 144 million bid and to determine whether the Mumbai based company may wish to continue the takeover on amended terms.

Rocklands which controls three metallurgical coal projects in Queensland-state, has surged six fold in Sydney trading in the last six months, giving the company a market value of about AUD 107 million. The Jindal offer of 42 Australian cents a share remains on track with the New Delhi-based company continuing its due diligence.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTcw/Essar_Steel_pulls_out_of_race_with_JSPL_for_Rocklands.html

Mr Atul Chaturvedi appoints as new steel secretary

9:25 PM Unknown No comments

Indian government announced that Mr Atul Chaturvedi at present the Secretary Department of Fertilizers has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Steel from October 31.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointments

Mr Chaturvedi who is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1974 batch (Uttar Pradesh cadre), will succeed Mr P K Rastogi who will retire from service on that date.

Sourse From: http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTY5/Mr_Atul_Chaturvedi_appoints_as_new_steel_secretary.html

SAIL divestment next in line - Report

9:25 PM Unknown No comments

Disinvestment in steel giant SAIL seems to be the next in stake sale in PSUs with the government considering a two phase follow on public offer of the Navratna firm which will fetch the Centre over INR 8,000 crore at current share prices.

A senior steel ministry official said that the 20% FPO will be a combination of five per cent dilution of government's equity and five per cent issue of additional shares in each phase.

The official added that “Steel minister Mr Virbhadra Singh has already approved the proposal, which has also got in-principle approval of the Disinvestment Department of the Finance Ministry. Now, SAIL is finalizing the document which will be presented in its board meeting this week.”

The official further added that “SAIL will then inform SEBI about the move and after that the ministry will prepare a note to be sent to the Cabinet for its approval, likely by December.”

Going by the current market value of SAIL, offloading 10% will fetch over INR 8,000 crore. Since the FPO is mix of government’s stake and issue of fresh equity by the company, the share of the Centre and firm will be INR 4,000 crore each.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/22/MTE2OTY4/SAIL_divestment_next_in_line_-_Report.html)

Indian steel price index reflects restart of weakening

9:25 PM Unknown No comments

The Indian Long Product Price Index ILPPI dropped by 8 points whereas Indian Flat Product Price Index IFPPI went down by 2 points. The overall Indian Steel Price Index INDSPI decreased by 5 points

Class 19-Oct 20-Oct Change %

ILPPI 6052 6044 -8 -0.1%

IFPPI 7481 7479 -2 0.0%

INDSPI 6733 6728 -5 -0.1%

ILPPI - Long Product Price Index
IFPPI - Flat Product Price Index
INDSPI - Indian Steel Price Index

Long Products

Category 19-Oct 20-Oct Change %

PI - TMT 5763 5756 -7 -0.1%

PI - WRC 6545 6537 -7 -0.1%

PI - Angle 5752 5737 -15 -0.3%

PI - Channel 5826 5816 -11 -0.2%

PI - Joist 5425 5414 -12 -0.2%

PI - Product Index

Flat Products

Category 19-Oct 20-Oct Change %

PI - Narrow Plates 7130 7130 0 0.0%

PI - Wide Plates 7245 7241 -4 -0.1%

PI - Hot Rolled 7327 7327 0 0.0%

PI - Cold Rolled 8076 8071 -5 -0.1%

PI - Galvanized 7911 7904 -7 -0.1%

PI - Product Index

To know more about these indices please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

You can also get ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI as SMS alert on mobile by submitting your details at http://steelprices-india.com/smsalert

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or send a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details Kindly note that this is a paid service

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Indian steel price index reflects restart of weakening

10:35 PM Unknown No comments

INDSPI - SENSEX for domestic steel prices in India

10:35 PM Unknown No comments

Amidst the currently prevailing volatile and speculative steel price scenario in India, SteelGuru.com has started the much needed barometer to track and measure the price movements on daily basis.

In order to provide an index for steel prices, we call it SENSEX for steel, SteelGuru.com decided to work on both long products and flat products for respective category indices as also a composite one for steel. We call them ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI and have started releasing these indices with effect from July 1st 2008, after taking June 30th 2008 as base.

ILPPI is based on daily market prices of three benchmark products rebars, wire rod and sections whereas IFPPI is based on HRC, plates, CR and HDG. These indices have been built considering their respective weights in the composite categories as also in the shares of sales in the important markets.

The pricing input is from www.steelprices-india.com, which publishes market transaction prices of benchmark products among select locations 5 days a week.

These price indices outline the way domestic steel market is moving day by day and will help producers, agents in the supply chain, steel buyers, bankers and analysts in their respective businesses.

To know more, please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

You can also get ILPPI, IFPPI and INDSPI as SMS alert on mobile by submitting your details at http://steelprices-india.com/smsalert

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTc5/INDSPI_-_SENSEX_for_domestic_steel_prices_in_India.html

Sponge iron price drop in Raigarh

10:34 PM Unknown No comments

Morgan Stanley assigns Overweight rating for JSW Steel

10:34 PM Unknown No comments

ET reported that Morgan Stanley has recommends Overweight rating on JSW Steel with a target price of INR 1,046.

Steel prices look firm even though the Street seems to expect a sustained correction. JSW's strong growth prospects are based on solid and timely volume growth and process improvements and so have few risks. Morgan Stanley expects 35% CAGR in steel output and 120% CAGR in EPS in FY09-FY 12.

Negative earnings impact of some hardening of coal and iron ore prices should be counteracted by expanding scale and growing self-sufficiency in power and coke. Despite the recent run-up , the stock price may have some more steam, especially given its valuations of 6.9x and 5.8x based on our FY10 and FY11 EV/EBITDA, which look particularly attractive in view of the EBITDA CAGR forecast of 43% in FY 09-FY 12.

For every 1% change in steel prices, FY10E EPS may change by 5%. Morgan Stanley expects sales volume CAGR of 37% in FY09-FY 12. Uptrend may act as a negative factor for earnings performance. With progress in the next capacity addition plan, steel prices may fall more sharply and for longer than we expect. Higher raw material costs, sustained pressure on balance sheet and cash flows, may lead to a delay in project execution.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTc3/Morgan_Stanley_assigns_Overweight_rating_for_JSW_Steel.html)

Edwards install steel degassing system at Shyam Forgings

10:34 PM Unknown No comments

Edwards has won an order worth more than GBP 200,000 for its new generation steel degassing system in India. This is the first system of its kind in the country and has been installed at Shyam Forgings Pvt in New Delhi.

It is being used to perform Vacuum Oxygen Decarburizing in a production environment and offers potential energy cost savings of more than 90 per cent over traditional steam ejector systems.

The single steel degassing module is being used to run the Vacuum Degassing and VOD processes to produce large degassed and decarburized castings of up to 30 tonnes for Shyam Forging’s customers. The customers then use the castings to produce large machinery components for the power generation and industrial markets across Asia.

Both ultra low carbon steels (less than 0.02% carbon by weight) and low carbon stainless steels are processed through the VOD system in up to 13 ton melts for subsequent casing and machining at customers’ facilities.

Edwards’ dry pumping technology enables users to produce higher quality products with significantly reduced operating/energy costs. At the same time customers are able to improve their environmental impact and carbon footprint through reducing CO2 emissions, water effluent and energy use.

Mr Vikrant Sanglikar country head for South Asia of Edwards said that “Global demand for steel is growing rapidly and we are delighted to have completed our first commercial VOD processing installation in India. The successful demonstration of this vacuum decarburizing process using our dry pumping systems will allow us to confidently move forward into the larger VOD based process applications and address a growing market need.”

Mr Nitin Agrawal MD of Shyam Forging said that “The Edwards system was installed after extensive product and preproduction testing at our plant throughout the year and we are very impressed with the results so far. We’re now able to produce higher quality steels and in larger quantities to better serve our customers.”

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTc2/Edwards_install_steel_degassing_system_at_Shyam_Forgings.html

TATA Motors buys remaining 79pct stake in Hispano

10:33 PM Unknown No comments

Reuters reported that TATA Motors has acquired the remaining 79% stake in Spain's Hipnao.

TATA which had a 21% stake in the Spanish bus and coach maker since 2005 said that it acquired the stake exercising its call option through mutual agreement with the other stake holder Investalia SA.

(Sourced http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTc1/TATA_Motors_buys_remaining_79pct_stake_in_Hispano.html)

Pencil ingot price movement in major places on Oct 20

10:33 PM Unknown No comments

Work begins on oil evacuation from sunken MV Black Rose

10:33 PM Unknown No comments

BS reported that the work has finally started on evacuation of oil from the sunken Mongolian vessel Black Rose, 40 days after it capsized near the Paradeep port on the eastern coast.

As per report seven personnel of Resolve Marine Group which was awarded the contract to retrieve oil from the sunken vessel visited the site of the mishap on Monday along with the PPT officials to conduct survey work. The team of Resolve Marine Group and the PPT officials are making efforts to locate the oil tank of the sunken vessel.

Mr Biplav Kumar deputy chairman of PPT said that “The team has visited the spot and started their preparatory and survey work. Seven personnel of the US-based firm have been pressed into service while PPT would provide divers and marine personnel to retrieve oil from the vessel.”

He added that PPT has received 75% of the equipment from the US based firm and we expect to receive the remaining equipment shortly.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTcz/Work_begins_on_oil_evacuation_from_sunken_MV_Black_Rose.html)

Special package for tracking steel pipe prices in India

10:32 PM Unknown No comments

Whether you are procurement in charge of a construction project, building contractor, product manager, a raw material seller in equipment business etc pipe is big ticket purchase item.

At www.steelprices-india.com we felt the need to monitor the transaction prices of Black and Galvanized ERW pipes in the full range of sizes from ½” to 6” to facilitate a prudent purchase by providing realistic price information.

A. Black Pipe

Size Grade

1/2" Heavy

3/4" Heavy

1" Heavy

1 1/4" Heavy

1 1/2" Heavy

2" Heavy

2 1/2" Heavy

3" Heavy

4" Heavy

5" Heavy

6" Heavy

B. GI Pipe

Size Grade

1/2" Medium

3/4" Medium

1" Medium

1 1/4" Medium

1 1/2" Medium

2" Medium

2 1/2" Medium

3" Medium

4" Medium

5" Medium

6" Medium

The price information is provided from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Mandi, Ahmedabad, Indore, Mumbai, Bangalore and Raipur on a daily basis.

This is a paid service with annual subscription fee of USD 600 or INR 30,000 + Service Tax

To know more details on steel prices subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com by registering or sending a mail to admin@steelprices-india.com with contact details. Contact No. 0091 124 4048993

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTcy/Special_package_for_tracking_steel_pipe_prices_in_India.html

Prakash Industries Q2 profit up by 40pct

10:32 PM Unknown No comments

Prakash Industries engaged in steel, mining and power businesses reported a 40% growth in net profit at INR 67.80 crore for the second quarter ended September. However its net sales of the company fell to INR 377.43 crore in the latest quarter from INR 474.45 crore of the same period last year.

Prakash Industries in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange said that for the half year ended September 30th 2009, the company posted a net profit of INR 126.39 crore up by 9.67% as compared to INR 115.24 crore of the same period last fiscal.

Mr VP Aggarwal CMD of Prakash Industries said that "We attribute this strong performance to the highest ever production volumes achieved by us in our steel operations.”

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTcx/Prakash_Industries_Q2_profit_up_by_40pct.html)

Essar Steel pulls out of race with JSPL for Rocklands

10:32 PM Unknown No comments

Bloomberg reported that Essar Group withdrew from a bidding contest with Jindal Steel & Power Ltd for Australian coal explorer Rocklands Richfield Ltd.

Rocklands has written to Essar asking why it’s dropping the AUD 144 million bid and to determine whether the Mumbai based company may wish to continue the takeover on amended terms.

Rocklands which controls three metallurgical coal projects in Queensland-state, has surged six fold in Sydney trading in the last six months, giving the company a market value of about AUD 107 million. The Jindal offer of 42 Australian cents a share remains on track with the New Delhi-based company continuing its due diligence.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTcw/Essar_Steel_pulls_out_of_race_with_JSPL_for_Rocklands.html)

Mr Atul Chaturvedi appoints as new steel secretary

10:31 PM Unknown No comments

Indian government announced that Mr Atul Chaturvedi at present the Secretary Department of Fertilizers has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Steel from October 31.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointments

Mr Chaturvedi who is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1974 batch (Uttar Pradesh cadre), will succeed Mr P K Rastogi who will retire from service on that date.

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTY5/Mr_Atul_Chaturvedi_appoints_as_new_steel_secretary.html

SAIL divestment next in line - Report

10:31 PM Unknown No comments

Disinvestment in steel giant SAIL seems to be the next in stake sale in PSUs with the government considering a two phase follow on public offer of the Navratna firm which will fetch the Centre over INR 8,000 crore at current share prices.

A senior steel ministry official said that the 20% FPO will be a combination of five per cent dilution of government's equity and five per cent issue of additional shares in each phase.

The official added that “Steel minister Mr Virbhadra Singh has already approved the proposal, which has also got in-principle approval of the Disinvestment Department of the Finance Ministry. Now, SAIL is finalizing the document which will be presented in its board meeting this week.”

The official further added that “SAIL will then inform SEBI about the move and after that the ministry will prepare a note to be sent to the Cabinet for its approval, likely by December.”

Going by the current market value of SAIL, offloading 10% will fetch over INR 8,000 crore. Since the FPO is mix of government’s stake and issue of fresh equity by the company, the share of the Centre and firm will be INR 4,000 crore each.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/21/MTE2OTY4/SAIL_divestment_next_in_line_-_Report.html)

Monday Market Monitor - India (WEEK 42) -Agony prolongs

9:33 PM Unknown No comments

Indian domestic steel prices continue to exhibit weakening sentiments last week. The Indian Long Product Price Index ILPPI decreased by 80 points whereas Indian Flat Products Index IFPPI dipped by 12 points. The overall price index INDSPI decreased by 48 points. Last week reflected that the rate of price fall has reduced albeit.

Class 09-Oct 16-Oct Change %

ILPPI 6132 6052 -80 -1.3%

IFPPI 7493 7481 -12 -0.2%

INDSPI 6780 6733 -48 -0.7%

ILPPI - Indian Long Product Price Index
IFPPI - Indian Flat Product Price Index
INDSPI - Indian Steel Price Index

Long Products

Category 09-Oct 16-Oct Change %

PI - TMT 5795 5763 -32 -0.6%

PI - WRC 6680 6545 -135 -2.0%

PI - Angle 5823 5752 -71 -1.2%

PI - Channel 5890 5826 -64 -1.1%

PI - Joist 5490 5425 -65 -1.2%

PI - Product Index

Flat products

Category 09-Oct 16-Oct Change %

PI - Narrow Plates 7148 7130 -18 -0.2%

PI - Wide Plates 7247 7245 -1 0.0%

PI - Hot Rolled 7346 7327 -20 -0.3%

PI - Cold Rolled 8072 8076 4 0.1%

PI - Galvanized 7917 7911 -6 -0.1%

PI - Product Index

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1. Input material - No respite

Input materials exhibited a mixed trend across products and locations last week. As per market sources prices of pencil ingot are to face both supply and demand pressure this week and may weaken a bit.

Melting scrap
80:20
HMS

Location Change

Chennai -2%

Kandla -3%

Mumbai 1%

Mandi 2%

Kolkata 2%

Kanpur -4%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Alang

Product Size Change

Ships Mixed 3%

Plate cuttings 1' 2%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Pencil ingot

Location Change

Mumbai 1%

Mandi 2%

Raipur 2%

Kanpur -6%

Kolkata -3%

Ghaziabad 0%

Muzzafarnagar 1%

Ahmedabad 2%

Rudrapur -6%

Hyderabad 0%

Raigarh 0%

Durgapur -1%

Nagpur 2%

Jamshedpur -1%

Jaipur 0%

Rourkela 0%

Bhiwari -1%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Pig Iron

Location Change

Raipur -4%

Kolkata 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Sponge iron

Location Change

Raipur 3%

Kolkata 0%

Bellary -1%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

2. Long products Vacuum continues

Long product prices in India continued southward march last week except at some pockets. Low demand from construction is said to be the culprit and market sources point to the possibility of small upward correction post Diwali, when people resume their buying.

TMT
Fe 415
12mm

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 1%

Mandi -1%

Kolkata -4%

Delhi 1%

Kanpur -3%

Ahmedabad 3%

Indore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

WRC
SWR14
5.5/6

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 1%

Mandi 0%

Raipur 1%

Kolkata -5%

Delhi -5%

Kanpur -3%

Ahmedabad 3%

Indore -1%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

ANGL
GRADE A
65X65X6

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 1%

Mandi -1%

Raipur 1%

Kolkata -4%

Delhi -4%

Kanpur -2%

Ahmedabad 2%

Indore 0%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

CNHL
GRADE A
75/40

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 1%

Mandi 0%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata -5%

Delhi -1%

Kanpur -2%

Ahmedabad -1%

Indore -1%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

JSTI
GRADE A
250X125

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 1%

Mandi 0%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata -5%

Delhi -1%

Kanpur -2%

Ahmedabad -1%

Indore -1%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

3. Flat products - Chinese threat haunts the market

Chinese threat is playing havoc in the minds of both Indian buyers and sellers, with the former anticipating further fall in import offers and later screaming for imposition of duty to cub imports. All the same, Indian domestic prices of flats are on down trend and it is expected that they will further fall in coming week.

HRC
Tube
2.5x1250

Location Change

Mumbai 0%

Ludhiana -1%

Kolkata 0%

Delhi 0%

Ahmedabad 0%

Indore 0%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Patra

Location Change

Ludhiana -3%

Mandi -1%

Delhi -6%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Plates
GRADE A
8X1250/1500

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 0%

Kolkata 0%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

Plates
GRADE B
12-20X2500

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 0%

Raipur 0%

Kolkata 1%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Ahmedabad 0%

Indore -1%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

CR
DSK
0.63x1000

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 0%

Pune 0%

Kolkata 1%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -1%

Ahmedabad 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

GC
100Gms
0.4

Location Change

Chennai 0%

Mumbai 0%

Kolkata 0%

Delhi 0%

Kanpur -2%

Bangalore 0%

Change is on October 16th as compared to October 9th 2009
Change is in INR per tonne

4. Indian Export Levels -Ominous silence

With prices of input material for coated products coming down, overseas buyers are anticipating further correction in prices of HDG and PPGI. Indian sellers are resisting such moves to protect their margins and no changes were reported in FOB levels last week in general.

Item Grade Size Delivery Change

PLTS Structural 12-40x2.5 FOB Vizag 0

HDG 100Gms 0.4 FOB Mumbai 0

PPGI Standard RAL 0.4 FOB Mumbai 0

Change is on October 2nd as compared to September 25th 2009
Change is in USD per tonne

Indian Import Levels -Chinese offers breaks through the USD 500 mark

Indian buyers have been receiving offers, mainly for HR imports, at lucrative levels from Chinese mills and trading houses but they are anticipating further fall in the offers and as per reports many of them are waiting for such eventuality.

The offers of HRC last week were heard at USD 495 per tonne on CFR basis for tube & structural grade in higher thicknesses. Offers for CR grade HR in lower thicknesses were scare and at higher levels

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