December, 28 2005
SAIL Chairman Hopes for stable prices in January March 2006
SAIL said that steel prices are likely to remain stable in the remaining three months of the current financial year as the demand continues to be buoyant. "The outlook for steel prices looks stable as the domestic demand continues to be buoyant," SAIL Chairman Mr VS Jain said.
He is reported to have said that with the economy registering a healthy growth, the demand for steel is expected to rise. Even as the international prices were under pressure in the recent past mainly due to lower demand from China, domestic prices would be stable due to domestic demand.
PM may head GoM to finalize steel roadmap
Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is likely to head the group of ministers GoM proposed by the steel ministry to finalize action plans and monitor the implementation of the recently announced National Steel Policy as per a request from Union steel minister Mr Ram Vilas Paswan. Mr Paswan has suggested that the GoM should comprise ministers of mine, steel, railway, highways & ports, power, coal, and forest & environment as its members.
Mr Paswan has suggested that the proposed GoM should provide a framework for single window clearance for large steel projects involving 2 million tonne capacity and more. It would also facilitate both domestic and overseas projects to ensure that the NSP target of taking up domestic steel production to 110 million tonnes by 2019-20 is realized.
The GoM would also help in policy co-ordination between the Centre and the states.
Indian steel minister says that export of high grade iron ore could be stopped
Steel Minister Mr Ram Vilas Paswan said the government was seriously looking into the possibility of stopping export of high grade iron ore. Mr Paswan said the country had a reserve of about 22 billion tonnes of iron ore, but the domestic consumption was rising over the years. ''We are reviewing our export policy.... We might stop export of iron ore of 64 and above grade to meet the domestic demand,'' he said.
He clarified that the companies setting up steel plants in the country would not face any shortage of raw material, including iron ore.
POSCO bent on developing captive port
POSCO is reported to be bent on developing a captive port near Paradip Port for handling its cargo, contrary to the wishes of the Central government and opposition from various quarters including wild life conservationists. The shipping ministry has asked Orissa government to discourage POSCO from developing a separate port at Jatadhari 12 kilometers from Paradip saying it would cause enormous soil erosion in Paradip and render it useless besides upsetting the eco-system.
You need to realize that ours is a 12 million tonne mega steel plant to be built at a whopping Rs 52,000 crore. So we do need a dedicated port facility and there is nothing wrong about it, POSCO Indias chief representative Mr Sang Moo Doh said. Mr Doh pointed out, In course of our environment impact assessment study we found that the capacity of Paradip Port is already over stretched and it is not in a condition to handle our cargo dedicatedly. So, there should be no doubt that we definitely need a separate facility.
Indian infrastructure growth down to 3% in November
Negative growth in crude oil and steel sector followed by a decline in the growth rate in coal, electricity and cement sectors pulled down infrastructure growth to 3% during November as against 5.7 per cent registered in November last year. Steel output went down to almost half at 5.3% growth compared with 10.2% in the same month last fiscal and coal production posted 7.1% growth compared with 7.3% in November 2004.
The overall growth rate for the April-November 2005 period stood at 4.4% cent compared with 6.7% during the corresponding period last year, according to an official release. During this period steel output grew by 7.2% as against 8% YOY
JSLs 2nd chrome furnace in Orissa likely by end-January
Jindal Stainless Ltd expects to commence operations of its second chrome furnace in Orissa by the end of January. The company is likely to achieve a capacity utilization level of 50-60% at its two chrome plants by February-March as per Mr Arvind Parakh Director Finance of JSL
The company is setting up two ferrochrome plants with a capacity of 75,000 tonnes per annum that will eventually provide raw material to its proposed integrated steel plant in Orissa. Installation of the first furnace was due in September this year, but was delayed by two months resulting in around Rs 20-crore cost escalation for the company, officials said.
Jindal Stainless is setting up a 1.5-million-tonne per annum fully integrated stainless steel plant in Orissa to be followed by a six-lakh-tonne unit with an investment in the range of Rs 500-600 crore. The company has a four-lakh-tonne per annum stainless steel manufacturing facility at Hissar in Haryana.
Indian mine ministry opposes captive iron ore mining
The Ministry of Mines has represented to the Government that it is opposed to, as a matter of principle, the proposals of captive iron ore mining by steel manufacturers. It has contended that this leads to an element of subsidy through transfer pricing, and that the mining sector as such is deprived of its share of profits in the value chain. There is also a loss of revenue to the Government.
The Ministry has said that allowing steel producers to impound the entire value added from captive mining of iron ore for steel production results in a huge subsidy to them. In a case of captive mining by the steel producer, the Mines Ministry has argued, the former gets subsidized in two ways.
One is the difference between the cost of extraction and the market price of iron ore is borne by the iron ore mining industry, which is not easy to quantify over the life span of the project. As of now, the cost of extraction for captive mining for SAIL and TATA Steel is between Rs 250 and 325 per tonne, while the market price of iron ore is around Rs 2,000 per tonne.
The second part is the loss borne by the Government, in the form of lost taxes that would have accrued to it in the form of sales tax and other duties like octroi etc.
Essar Steel plans SEZ at Hazira
Essar Steel has proposed to set up a special economic zone spread over 1,100 hectares of land adjacent to Essar's existing project site at Hazira in Gujarat for the steel industry at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore.
Essar Steel has approached the Ministry of Commerce for an in-principle approval of the project. Essar has also sought support from the Gujarat government for the proposed SEZ. Essar has estimated an additional investment of Rs 400 crore for setting up the SEZ's infrastructure.
As per reports in news daily, Essar Steel plans to set up a new integrated steel plant and a power project at the proposed SEZ.
No breakthrough for Chhattisgarh sponge iron units
A meeting between the Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association and state owned NMDC held at Hyderabad failed to make any headway, said Mr Suresh Agrawal, president of the sponge iron makers' body.
The talks failed to ensure supply of raw materials for 70 sponge units that stopped production December 20 because of a recurring iron ore and coal crisis. These units account for 30 percent of India's total annual output of 10 million tonnes of sponge iron.
The shutdown began on the call of the association that accused the NMDC of ignoring the needs of Chhattisgarh-based plants and catering to large companies and to exports, mainly to Japan, from its three mines in the state.
NMDC chairman Mr Ramesh Kumar assured that he would look into the matter for increasing iron ore supplies from its Chhattisgarh mines to local customers. Regarding the high cost of iron supply Mr Kumar said the steel ministry's pricing committee had the authority to reduce the cost
Mr Agrawal said his association would try to meet Steel Minister Mr Ram Vilas Paswan to ensure sufficient iron ore supplies for the Chhattisgarh plants to resume production.
Paradip to get separate iron and coal berths
The government is planning to construct two bulk berths at Paradip Port, for handling of iron and coal, at a cost of Rs 600 crore to take care of the surge in demand for coking coal and the region becoming a major steel hub.
Both the berths are to be constructed on build operate transfer BOT basis. The first phase would involve dredging of the port, which would involve expenses of around Rs 154 crore. Incidentally the bidding for iron ore berth had been over and even the bidders had also been finalized but due to change in berths location re bidding is likely to take place soon
Bidding for the coal bulk berth is scheduled to start in the next four to five months. The total worth of both the iron and coal berths is Rs 300 crore and Rs 150 crore respectively. The construction of the two berths is scheduled to finish by 2009.
This development is apart from the special purpose vehicle (SPV), which is being prepared for Paradip port, for improving rail and road connectivity till the port.
JSPL takes Asanboni villagers to Raigarh plant to show development
Jindal Steel & Power Ltd JSPL recently decided to proceed with acquisition of the 5,502 acres it needed for its proposed 5 million tonne steel plant in Asanboni in West Singhbhum district by using a new method to woo villagers whose lands the company wanted to buy.
The company recently started taking the villagers in batches to the company's existing plant site at Raigara to demonstrate the development work done in the region to help villagers who donated land.
According to reports, villagers after returning from a visit to the existing plant had expressed satisfaction over the company's commitment to their village, which would have to give way for the JSPL steel plant to come up
Bangladesh to resume Tata investment talks in January
Bangladesh has invited India's Tata group for the fourth and presumably final round of negotiations in the second week of January for the company's $3 billion investment plan in the country.
"We had earlier planned to resume the talks on January 15, but now we plan to begin on Jan 7 or 8 at the behest of the Indian conglomerate," an official of the Bangladesh Board of Investment told. "The talks will be held for two days in the first stage and will resume again on January 22 to conclude the process of finalizing the investment initiative.
In April this year, Tata submitted a formal proposal for setting up the three industrial units and the mining of coal for the power project at a cost of $2.5 billion. The proposed investment amount was later revised to $3 billion.
Ispat group promoters look to exit textiles & focus on steel
Mr Pramod Mittal and Mr Vinod Mittal, promoters of the Ispat group, are likely to exit the textiles business. The promoters are likely to hive off their textile business to focus on steel manufacturing, their core activity. It is reported that the textiles business will be sold off to a suitable buyer.
The Ispat group has interests in textiles through GPI Textiles, which has a unit based in Nalagad Himachal Pradesh. GPI textiles was earlier a part of Gontermann Peipers India that manufactures rollers used in making value added steel. GPI was later sliced off in to a separate subsidiary.
KIOCL Kudremukh: Looking for alternatives
The management of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited KIOCL is seriously looking for alternatives to utilize its existing staff and resources in view of Supreme Court order to close mining activities at Kudremukh from 31 December. The company is upgrading facilities at its Mangalore pelletization plant to receive four million tonnes of iron ore from Bellary Hospet so that exports of pellets do not stop. In addition KIOCL has signed a MoU with SAIL and Orissa government for jointly developing iron ore mines for its use.
KIOCLs pallet plant accounted for 1500 Crores out of total revenues of 1800 crores last year and in spite of mine closure KIOCL can control damages to a great extant
Ramkrishna Forgings to expand capacity
Kolkata based Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd is planning to invest Rs 50 crore to double its forging capacity at its Jamshedpur plant from 25,000 ton to 45,000MT
Mr Naresh Jalan MD said that it has decided to raise Rs 23 crore through a private placement of shares in next 2-3 months for the project and has also tied up debt with State Bank of India for the project.
Jharkhand investors face extremist land threat
The Jharkhand state government, which has signed 42 MoUs for steel, power and other projects and has setup Jharkhand Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation as the single window agency for land allotments. It is reported that JIDCO has so far received land acquisition proposals for about 26,000 acres from private sector investors.
However, industry sources warned that land acquisition for any project in Jharkhand would not be easy in view of the recent threat issued by extreme Left and Marxist groups in the state, which had declared they would target proposed and existing businesses seeking to expand operations in mineral -rich areas.
Govt to set up SPV for funding connectivity to Paradeep
The Government is planning to set up a special purpose vehicle SPV for funding rail and road connectivity between Paradip port and Haridaspur in Orissa. The SPV would be set up with the help of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited RVNL, National Highway Authority of India NHAI and some major private mines. The government would have one-third equity in the SPV.
With a large number of steel plants in the state, there is an increase in demand for coking coal and the route would facilitate ferrying of related commodities. The main reason behind setting up the SPV is for facilitating early completion of the 77 kilometer stretch.
Jharkhand to consider inland port proposal
The Jharkhand government is considering a proposal to develop an inland port on the Subarnarekha River to provide an outlet for export cargo and Creative Infrastructure, a Chennai-based company, has submitted a proposal to the state government to set up an inland port on the river in East Singhbhum district. The river runs through West Bengal and Orissa before entering the Bay of Bengal in Balasore district.
"We are going through the proposal. The final decision will be taken by Chief Minister Mr Arjun Munda as the project also involves West Bengal and Orissa," a senior official told. "For a long time, the state government was planning to connect the state with a port in Orissa to promote exports. If the inland port project materializes, the state will generate Rs.20 billion ($442 million) per annum in exports, given the presence of many major steel companies here".
According to the proposal, the estimated cost of the project was around Rs.10 billion ($221 million). The state government is expected to take the final decision soon, the official said.
WB CM resents lack of policy on iron ore
West Bengal Chief minister Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee opposed the export of iron ore and resented the lack of a central policy on supply of the crucial raw material to steel manufacturers.
We have iron ore reserves for only about 30 years. There should be a policy on whether to export the crucial raw material or not. The centre should think of a policy, he said. Citing instances of iron ore rich nations, he said while countries like Brazil and the UK did not export it to ensure adequate reserves for their own use, India was exporting iron ore to Europe and other countries
NMDC may invest in Krishnapatnam rail road project
NATIONAL Mineral Development Corporation NMDC may be one of the strategic investors in Krishnapatnam Rail Road Corporation Ltd KRRCL, subject to clearance from NMDC's parent Ministry of Steel and Mines
KRRCL is the SPV to be set up to construct the rail link to Krishnapatnam at Andhra Pradesh. It is a public-private partnership project undertaken by Railway Ministry's Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), Government of Andhra Pradesh, Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd (KPCL) and other strategic investors that include iron ore exporters.
The project would provide a rail link to the iron ore exporters in Hospet-Bellary sector. The 113-km long rail link would be built with a landed cost of Rs 588 crore
GAIL places orders for pipes for Uran pipeline
GAIL has placed an Rs 405-crore order for the supply of pipes for its Dahej-Uran pipeline DUPL project which has got delayed due to the controversy over the technological choice for the pipes. The supply of pipes will now commence from April next and the 500-km pipeline will be completed by February 2007.
The gas major also placed another order worth Rs 80 crore for the Vijaipur-Kota pipeline project. The supply of pipes is expected to commence from April 2006 and the pipeline will be completed by December 2006.
Delhi Government to import thermal coal through MMTC & STC
Delhi government has decided to source imported coal through Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation MMTC and State Trading Corporation STC. The government has signed contracts with MMTC and STC for the supply of 35,000 tonne of imported coal which these trading companies will start supplying from January 2006.
Indraprastha power plant will use the imported coal on an experimental basis. If power generation from the imported coal conforms to pollution standards of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF)
CMD of Indraprastha power plant Arun Goyal said, Supplies from these two trading companies are expected by January next year. After blending the imported coal with our indigenous coal, we would be able to bring down the ash content, which is the cause of pollution in the city. It would also help generating power in a more efficient manner, as the calorific value of the imported coal is very high compared to the domestic one.
The calorific value of the imported coal is 6,000 joules, whereas in Indian coal its just 4,000 joules. The use of imported coal will hopefully increase the economic viability of the plant. Earlier, in order to stay within the permissible limits of ash emission, the plant used to get the high ash content coal, supplied by the Coal India, washed from outside.
Essar Steel to clear UTI debt by March end
Essar Steel will repay Rs 487 crore of outstanding debt to UTI by March 31 although the company had earlier agreed to clear this debt by December 31, as per a report in a financial daily and that UTI has agreed to the three month delay.
It is reported that the repayment will be done partly through refinancing and partly through internal accruals, but did not give any details.
Essar Steel had reached a restructuring agreement with UTI in 2004 to repay the entire debt of Rs 927 crore by December 2005. The restructuring involved Rs 80 crore being paid by the company before December 2004, Rs 10 crore to be paid every month there after, and the balance Rs 737 crore was to be paid before December 2005. Essar Steel is reported to have paid only Rs 250 crore of the balance Rs 737 crore before December.
The company plans to be out of the corporate debt restructuring CDR package before March 31 by pre paying lenders. Of the original CDR debt of Rs 2,800 crore as on April 1 2005, the company has refinanced around Rs 1,400 crore and prepaid around Rs 400 crore and the remaining Rs 1,000 crore of the CDR debt is also expected to be refinanced or repaid by the end of the current fiscal year.
MESCO starts paying off loans
The Mideast Integrated Steels MESCO has paid back as much as 50 per cent of its unsecured loans within the first nine months of operations. Set up as a 100 per cent EOU steel unit Mesco expects a turnover of Rs 300 crore in the first year production during 2005-06. The creditors that have been paid a full and final settlement include ICICI Bank, OMC Ltd, Siemens Ltd, Lloyd Steel and First Leasing Co.
The company had commissioned in January this year the first of its two blast furnaces of the integrated steel project at Duburi in Jajpur district, Orissa, which was in limbo for over a decade. The combined capacity of the two blast furnaces is estimated at 1.5 million tonne of hot metal per annum. The first blast furnace, named Satya, has a capacity of 400,000 tonnes of pig iron. It was commissioned in January 2005 and began commercial production in March 2005.
Commenting on first year of operation, MESCO MD Ms Rita Singh said, "it has been encouraging and we are upbeat of our performance so far". She said the company is now focusing on expansion and high value exports. Stemcor of UK has invested in the equity of the project.
Russia slaps 21% duty on Ukrainian steel rod
Russia is imposing a safeguard duty of 21% on Ukrainian steel rods for reinforced concrete for the period to August 14, 2007, says a government resolution, published in Rossiiskaya gazeta. The duty enters into effect after a month.
The Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, EvrazHolding and Severstal earlier asked the government to extend the duty, and Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works, Krasny Oktyabr and traders Komtekh, Dipos, Brok-Invest-Service and Troika-Stal have also given their backing. The lobbying companies produced 79.6% of Russia's steel rods in the period from 2002 through 2004.
The Economic Development and Trade Ministry in early June revived an investigation against imports from Ukraine of rods for reinforced concrete constructions in order to determine if they would harm the domestic industry if the compensatory duty was lifted. Some analysts said that Ukrainian rods would become 18.4% cheaper than Russian ones after the lifting of the duty, because the Ukrainian government continues to subsidize steel companies.
China's November coal exports slump to 6 month low
China exported 4.44 million metric tons of coal in November, a six-month low, falling 44.8% from a year earlier, according to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs Monday. Coal exports also dropped 28% from October figures of 6.18 million tons
Exports during January - November have also reduced by 18.2% to 65.2 million tons and it is unlikely that government's full year target of 80 million tons could be met.
The decline in China's coal exports, however, won't have too much of an impact on the international market, as the country's annual exports of the fuel only account for 10%-15% of the world's total trading volume.
Analysts mostly attribute the fall in coal exports to lower international coal spot prices. China's coal exports aren't completely shielded from fluctuations in international spot prices, even though the bulk of the exports are based on long-term contracts, said Mr Aaron Zhang, an analyst at KGI Securities. The volume of long-term export contracts signed this year, most of them in early 2005, is below the 80-million-ton quota, Zhang said. And with international spot prices falling since June, importers have increasingly turned to the spot market instead of signing new contracts with China, he explained.
Moreover, Chinese coal producers are also reluctant to sell abroad as domestic coal prices are higher than international prices and coal export rebates was also cut to 8% from 11% in May making it less profitable
US tube makers want quota imposed on Chinese imports
US President Mr Bush has to decide on imposition of a quota on steel pipe imports from China soon. Major US manufacturers of standard pipe, which is used in sprinkler systems, air conditioning and fencing are lobbying hard to tilt it in their favor
Mr Bush must decide by Friday whether he agrees with an International Trade Commission recommendation in October that US companies have been unfairly hurt by Chinese imports, which have surged from 10,000 tons in 2002 to an estimated 380,000 tons this year.
The ITC recommended that Bush set a quota of 160,000 tons a year. Industry petitioners are asking for a 90,000-ton limit.
Korea's Dongkuk cuts its prices on steel plates once more
Korea's third largest steel manufacturer, Dongkuk Steel Mill Co has cut prices for its steel plates in response to a decrease in the price of slabs, the company said.
The company is reported to have reduced plate prices by 50,000 won ($49). Prices of shipbuilding quality plates have therefore dropped to 635,000 won ($627) and those for other purposes to 665,000 won ($656.78).
The aggregate price cuts throughout the year amounted to 115,000 won per plate for ships and 85,000 won for other plates, the company said.
Russia ups iron ore exports 5.3% in 11 months
Russia has increased iron ore exports by 5.3% YOY to 18.53 million tonnes in January November as per Rudprom. Russia exported 6.06 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate, down 20.8%, but 960,000 tonnes of briquettes, up 10.2%, 634,000 tonnes of sintering ore, up 39.9%, and 10.87 million tonnes of pellets, up 26%.
Iron ore exports to non-CIS countries came to 15.88 million tonnes or 85.7% of total exports, including 4.7 million tonnes of concentrate, 10.63 million tonnes of pellets and 554,000 tonnes of briquettes.
Russia exported 2.63 million tonnes of iron ore to Ukraine, including 238,000 tonnes of pellets and 1.36 million tonnes of concentrate.
Russia reduced iron ore production 0.3% year-on-year to 88.36 million tonnes in January-November.
Bao Steel likely to supply plates to Samsung shipyard
According to a report in a Chinese daily Samsung Heavy Industries Co, one of Korea's leading shipbuilders will be buying plates from Bao Steel. Samsung Heavy however, denies it has signed a contract but says it is optimistically looking into the offer. According to a report released on Saturday, Baosteel agreed with Samsung Heavy to supply 100,000 tons of shipbuilding steel sheets starting next year.
Earlier this year there was friction between Korean shipbuilders and Posco, Korea's leading steel company, over the high price for steel sheet. Two other leading Korean shipbuilders, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co and Daewoo Heavy Industries and Machinery are also said to be looking into using Chinese steel, which is 10% cheaper than Korean steel sheets. This retail at 645,000 won ($636) per ton.
Japanese steel demand may fall
Demand for Japanese steel products may fall 3.4% in the three months from January 1 due to reduction in exports and a decline in construction use, said Japans Ministry of Trade and Industry. Steel demand may drop 930,000 tonnes to 25.8 million tonnes in the three months ending March 31, the ministry said in a statement today.
Steel exports may fall 16.9% in the next three months from a year ago, Mr Hisayoshi Ando, a director at the ministrys steel unit, told reporters today.
Construction demand for steel is expected to fall 1.1% as the Niigata earthquake and hurricanes contributed to an increase in steel use for rebuilding civil works a year ago, he said. However, overall domestic demand for steel is expected to rise 1.1% to 19.75 million tonnes in the quarter on stronger demand led by sectors such as industrial machinery and shipbuilding, the ministry said. All sectors excluding civil works expect steel demand to increase or remain unchanged, the report said.
Output is expected to fall by 1.6% to 27.3 million tonnes in the quarter ending March 31 2006, the statement said.
Turkey's Oyak secures $1.6 billion loan for Erdemir
Turkish group Oyak has secured a $1.6 billion loan from a group of banks to finance its purchase of domestic steel maker Erdemir, the group said in a statement. "This represents the first long-term acquisition financing in support of Turkey's
TopChinese coke export down by 11.5% in January to November
China exported 11.5 million tons of coke and semi coke during January to November, down 15.5% from a year earlier. Exports for the full year are expected to miss the government set quota of 14 million tons
The slide in the export price of coke has greatly cooled coke producers' desire to export. Coke export prices averaged $136.38/ton in November lowest during last 2 years. In May 2004, international coke prices peaked at $430/ton.
Analyst said the slight fall in coke exports from China, the world's top coke producer and exporter may do little to check the downtrend in international prices, as the global market is still flush with coke.
As fundamentals in the international coke market are unlikely to reverse in the short term, most analysts expect China's coke exports to keep falling in the months to come.
Villagers accuse US Steel Serbia for pollution
Dozens of villagers blocked roads Tuesday around US Steel Serbia near the town of Smederevo to protest alleged pollution by the steelmaker. "We give the authorities 90 days to do something and protect the environment," local official Mr Milan Kostic said. "We have to protect the lives of our children."
The villagers say pollution in the area has increased considerably since last summer, but that the authorities have done nothing to determine the danger to people's health.
US Steel Serbia is owned by US Steel Corp, which bought Serbia's biggest but bankrupt steelmaker Sartid Co in 2001. The factory has revived production since 2001, becoming one of Serbia's most successful companies.
There was no immediate comment from U.S. Steel.
ThyssenKrupps granulated BF slag recognized as high value product
The air cooled granulated blast furnace slag supplied by ThyssenKrupp Steel is no longer termed as waste and is recognized as high value products as an outcome of an agreement between the Environment Ministry and ThyssenKrupp Steel
"Detailed investigations on site at ThyssenKrupp Steel have convinced us that the air-cooled and granulated blast furnace slag should not be regarded as waste within the meaning of the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act" says Environment Minister Mr Eckhard Uhlenberg. "Environmental protection is not just a government issue, it's also a business issue. The agreement with ThyssenKrupp Steel shows that cooperative solutions are possible."
ThyssenKrupp Steel has been supplying air cooled and granulated blast furnace slag to customers in the cement and construction industries for many decades. The products are specifically manufactured in connection with steel production and are subject to corresponding industry standards. Internal and external quality assurance programs guarantee that the materials meet customers high requirements.
Dr Karl-Ulrich Kler, Executive Board Chairman of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG, feels the efforts of his company have been vindicated: "The agreement with the environment ministry recognizes our measures for the targeted production of these materials. The transportation, storage and further use of the products will be greatly simplified, both at the manufacturer and at customers."
ThyssenKrupp Steel produces around 2.7 million metric tons of granulated slag and 500,000 tons of air-cooled slag per year, all of which is sold on the market.
Australian economy to grow at 3.3% as exports surge
Growth in Australia's A$860 billion ($625 billion) economy, the fifth-largest in Asia-Pacific, will accelerate to 3.3% next year as exports and business investment surge, economists said. Record commodity prices and demand from China will drive exports, which make up a fifth of the economy, according to economists
Stronger business investment should also boost growth from 2.5% in 2005 as housing and consumer spending slowly.
Exports from Australia, the world's biggest shipper of coal, iron ore and alumina, should reach a record A$120 billion in the year ending June 30, a report on Dec. 12 said.
South Korean shipbuilders get record orders worth $23.3 billion
The combined amount of orders received by the big three South Korean shipbuilders this year is expected to hit a record with $23.3 billion, up $2.3 billion from last year riding on a brisk market and increased sales of high-value added vessels. The combined amount set a record for three consecutive years with $15.8 billion in 2003 and $21 billion last year.
Shipbuilding deals won by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, Samsung Heavy Industries Co and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co totaled $8.5 billion, $8 billion and $6.8 billion, respectively.
Slovenian government adopts privatization program
Slovenian cabinet has adopted a privatization program for the Slovenian Steel Group with which it intends to reduce its stake in the group to 25% plus one share over the next two years. The government would form two lots of shares: a 25% plus one share stake that it would retain and a 55.35% stake that it would sell. The majority stake in the Steel Group has been placed on the government's list of state property earmarked for sale in 2006 and 2007.The new privatization program replaces the plan adopted in 2001 that failed to produce major results.
The government said that intends to find a "principal owner" for the group who would be able to assume the extensive business and social responsibilities associated with running such an important corporation. The primary purpose of the privatization is to raise the efficiency and the competitive ability of Slovenia's steel industry by finding a right ownership structure for the group, the government said.
Unlike the old program, the new scheme envisages the sale of the group as a whole instead of the sale of subsidiaries piece by piece. Moreover, the new scheme also includes a contingency plan in case the sale of the majority stake does not produce the desired results: the government has the option of breaking up the majority stake into a number of smaller stakes and selling those off to a number of investors, including portfolio investors.
The Slovenian Steel Group is made up of six steel producers, the biggest being Acroni Jesenice and Metal Ravne.
QASCOs additional rebar plant to start September 2006
QASCO Qatar is doubling their steel rebar rolling capacity by installing a new rolling mill of 700,000 T per year, to increase production to over 1.5 million ton annually. The additional steel bar mill is expected to start production in September 2006.
QASCO is also increasing molten steel production from 1.1 million tons to over 1.6 million tons annually. This facility will start production in December 2006.
A new Direct Reduction Plant to annually produce 1.5 million tons of iron will bring QASCO's DRI production up to 2.3 million ton by June 2007.
9-month exports from Khuzestan Steel $262m
In the past nine months of the current Iranian year Khuzestan Steel Complex exported some 740,000 tons of its products, valued at $262 million. The exported volume comprised about 40% of the total production of the company in the said period.
In this nine month period, KSC has produced 1.85 million tons of steel products, which showed 230,000 tons increase compared to the corresponding period last year
Khuzestan Steel Co. exports slabs, billets, and blooms to Italy, Indonesia, Kuwait, Thailand, Taiwan, UK, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
The companys total export volume is estimated to reach 900,000 tons by the end of the year.
MMK increases stake in Magnitogorsk Cement-Refractory Works
Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works MMK has increased its stake in the charter capital of OAO Magnitogorsk Cement-Refractory Works in Chelyabinsk region from 72.93% to 93.954%, MMK said in an official statement. According to the statement, the share of common stock owned by MMK increased from 81.69% to 96.255%.
TopSDI Names VP for Ferrous Resources
Steel Dynamics Inc promoted Mr Richard J. Brady from manager of Ferrous Resources and Logistics to VP of Ferrous Resources. His responsibilities include company-wide procurement of ferrous resources, including transportation and rail-car leasing activities.
Mr Keith Busse, president and CEO of SDI said "Since joining SDI in 2004 to establish and lead a new in-house steel scrap-purchasing operation, Rich has had a very positive impact on the company's procurement of ferrous resources and has been effective in controlling these resource costs. He has been instrumental in expanding our sourcing of steel scrap and pig iron, gaining greater transparency in pricing of ferrous resources, and has improved the flow of raw materials through more effective management of transportation."
General Steel Holdings announces new director
General Steel Holdings Inc announced that its Board of Directors has elected Mr Tian Lian Hui as an Independent Director. He will be joining the Company's audit committee and compensation committee together with the other two independent directors.
Mr Zuosheng Yu, Chairman and President of General Steel said, "We are pleased to welcome Mr. Tian to our board. His vast industry expertise and strong systems background will be extremely beneficial to our team as we work towards building our position within the Chinese steel industry."
General Steel Holdings Inc and its subsidiary Tianjin Da Qiu Zhuang Metal Sheet Co Ltd are manufacturers of high quality hot rolled steel sheets primarily for use in tractors, agricultural vehicles and other specialty vehicles.
