Wednesday, October 27,
ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, has modified its India strategy and will now focus on smaller plants.
At the Q3 earnings call, Mr Sudhir Maheshwari, Member of the Group Management Board, said, “We have tweaked our plans recently and now (will) go for smaller project sizes. But this is an enhancement to our longterm plans for India as we expect to expand our footprint.”
Mr L.N. Mittal, Chief Executive, said getting a footprint in India was top focus. “We want to grow our mining business, our business in Brazil and we want to build a strong footprint in India.”
The company had proposed to set up steel plants worth Rs 50,000 crore each in Jharkhand and Orissa with a capacity of 12 million tonnes a year. However, there has been little progress on the land acquisition front in the last five years.
ArcelorMittal is also in the process of acquiring land for setting up a six million-tonne plant in Karnataka with an investment of Rs 30,000 crore.
Last week, the company said it will trim its investment in Jharkhand by almost half to around Rs 25,000 crore. It is planning a six million- tonne plant in the State.
The company has also confirmed that it is in discussions with SAIL though no timeframe has been set for finalising a joint venture. As for mergers and acquisitions in India, Mr Maheshwari said, “In India there are very limited opportunities in the steel sector.”
Source: The Business Line
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