SAILs net profit surges by 27.9% in Q2

Steel Authority of India Ltd has announced the unaudited results for the July to September quarter of 2006-07. SAIL has posted a net profit after tax of Rs 14428.10 million for the quarter up by 27.9% YoY as compared to Rs 11272.20 million during July to September 2005-06 quarters. SAILs total income net of excise has increased from Rs 73719.40 million for Q2 of 2005-06 to Rs 87651.50 million for Q2 of 2006-07.

SAIL has also achieved highest ever first half net profit of Rs 2829 crore registering a growth 26% YoY as compared to H1 of 2005-06. Its revenue during H1 grew by 22% to Rs 17,998 crore. During the first six months of 2006-07, SAIL achieved highest ever salable steel production of 6.01 million tonnes, representing a growth of 6% YoY.

Mr SK Roongta chairman SAIL said "SAIL has maintained sustained growth and profitability. While implementing our growth plans for future, there will be special thrust on utilizing current potential of our human resources and other assets to the fullest extent."

TATA Steel posts 5.3% YoY increase in profit for Q2

TATA Steel Ltd has announced the audited results for the quarter ended September 30th 2006. It has posted a net profit of Rs 11014.90 million for Q2 of 2006-07 up by 5.3% YoY as compared to Rs 10454.20 million during Q2 of 2005-06. Its total income net of excise has increased from Rs 40032.10 million in Q2 of 2006-07 as compared with Rs 43629.80 million during Q2 of 2005-06.

On a consolidated basis, the group has posted profits after minority interest & share of profits of associates of Rs 11391.10 million for the quarter ended September 30th 2006 as compared to Rs 11113.20 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2005. Total income net of excise has increased from Rs 52196.40 million for the quarter ended September 30th 2005 to Rs 61764.20 million for the quarter ended September 30th 2006

TATA Steels production touched 1.257 million tonnes while export turnover dipped to Rs 545.95 crore from Rs 629.33 crore. The companys sales to the auto sector grew by 30% at 404,000 tonne for the first half of the financial year. This has helped the company to increase its market share in the segment to 44% from 41% in the same period last year.

Mr B. Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel said We have beaten the consensus estimate of the industry. Tata Steel has reported the highest ever turnover and profit after tax for a first half of the year with consolidated turnover increasing 17% and net profit up 3%.

JSPLs Q2 net profits up by 8% YoY despite mill shutdown

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd has announced unaudited results for the quarter ended September 30th 2006. JSPL has posted a net profit of Rs 1572.30 million for July to September 2006-07 quarter up by 8% YoY as compared to Rs 1455.30 million during July to September 2005-06.JSPLs total income has increased from Rs 6494.10 million in Q2 of 2005-06 to Rs 7929.00 million during Q2 of 2006-07 registering growth of 27% YoY.

Mr Sushil Maroo director finance of JSPL during an interview with CNBC-TV18 said that In this particular quarter, we had our Rail & Universal Beam Mill shutdown for over three months for up gradation, which just started production in the end of October and because of this, we could not produce more of steel and sell in the market.

Mr Maroo does not see any pressure on the margins He said Our operating margins has gone down slightly and this put some pressure on net profit but our net profit is at an all time high of Rs 157 crore, which is 8% higher than the corresponding quarter. The turnover has gone up by 23% and we seem to be doing good for the remaining part of the year.

TATA Steel MD sees stable outlook for H2

While releasing the results of July to September quarter of 2006-07, Mr Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel drew a positive outlook for the rest of the year with global demand to grow by 9% and domestic demand by 10% with steel prices remaining at the current levels for the balance part of the year.

Mr Muthuraman said Prices are cyclical but will remain at a higher mean level compared to the last decade. In the short term, I expect the prices to be at the current level of over $500 per tonne and at $ 450 per tonne in the long run.

CCCMC reference prices for Indian iron ore imports

The China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters has released on October 30th the average reference prices for import transactions of Fe 63.5% Indian iron ore concluded last week:

Change is with respect to prices reported for previous week

The CCCMC reference prices are average prices for import transactions of Fe 63.5% Indian iron ore concluded the week prior to issuance date of such reference prices.

The reference price practice is intended to regulate the domestic trading of Indian iron ore and avoid speculation on the raw material for China's booming steel industry.

(Sourced from Mysteel.net)

TATA Steel reaffirms that all expansion plans on course

TATA Steel reaffirmed that its all expansion plans, as previously announced, remain unaffected in the light of Corus acquisition allaying fears of certain projects being put on the backburner in the light of the Corus buy.

Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel at a conference to announce the companys quarterly results told media that All our projects will be according to schedule. There wont be any delay.

JSPL clarifies status on El Mutun venture

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, with reference to the news item appearing in leading web portal titled "To set up 2 MT plant in Bolivia, no plans to issue equity as now: Jindal Steel", has clarified to BSE that the government of Republic of Bolivia has accepted the JSPL's bid for development of El Mutun iron ore mine and for setting up facilities for manufacture of steel, including setting up of 2 million ton per annum steel plant in Bolivia.

The announcement adds that this will be finalized only after signing of agreement with the Government of Bolivia and discussions are going as for this purpose.

Paradip Ports iron ore volumes in H1 up by 18.9% YoY

Statesman News Service has reported that volume of principal commodities at Paradip Port has registered significance increase during April to September 2006-07 periods. The total traffic handled during the period was 17.679 million tonnes up by 9.7% YoY as against 16.115 million tonnes during April to September 2005-06.

PPT handled 5.645 million tonne of iron ore during H1 up by 18.9% YoY as compared to H1 of 2005-06.

Mr K Raghuramaiah chairman of PPT expressed satisfaction over the performance in cargo handling during the first six months of the current financial year.

TATA Steel operating margins may lower post Corus acquisition

It is reported that while releasing the July to September quarter results Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel admitted that the company would be unable to sustain its current level of operating margin if its takeover of Corus goes through.

Mr Muthuraman said It will take some time to achieve these margins again and, just now, it is a little early to say. We will have to think about it. The options which are open to us are huge. Synergies can be achieved between the two companies from day one. The two teams have had discussions and we believe there are tremendous opportunities between the two. I can't quantify them yet but I believe they are very significant.

TATA Steel achieved an operating margin of 25% during the quarter, a slight decline on the 26% achieved a year ago and analysts expect that level to be significantly compromised following the takeover of Corus, which TATA Steel expects to be completed next January. Corus' return ratios are significantly lower, analysts say as it achieved an EBITDA margin of only around 10% in 2005.

JSW Steel clarifies status of its expansion plans

JSW Steel Ltd, with reference to the news item appearing in leading financial daily titles "JSW plans to set up Rs 35k-cr steel plant in Orissa", has clarified BSE that the company signed a MoU with the state government of Jharkhand for setting up a 10 million tonne per annum green field steel project in the state of Jharkhand with an investment of Rs 35,000 Crore.

The release adds that as a part of the long term strategy, JSW Steel has been looking at expanding its steel capacity further through acquisition, green field projects and brown field expansions and that its is engaged in discussion with the state governments of Orissa and West Bengal for exploring such opportunities for expansion.

JSW has clarified that no MOU has so far signed either in Orissa or West Bengal.

M&M in talks for setting up a tractor unit in Iran with ITMCo

Indian auto major Mahindra & Mahindra is reported to be looking at starting assembly operations for its tractors through the third party assembly route in Iran. The likely entry is through a supply agreement with the government owned Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company, which commands a 80% market share in the local market.

Mr Anjanikumar Choudhari president of farm equipment sector of M&M said We increasingly prefer the third party assembly route for our tractor business as it is an asset light model where we accrue maximum benefit with minimum investment.

M&M has three assembly units in the US, a manufacturing facility in China, an assembly plant in Australia and a contract for setting up an assembly plant in Namibia. M&M has also entered into an agreement with Daves Tractor in California to expand its business to the west coast of the US in January 2006.

Adhunik Metaliks Q2 PAT at Rs 20.21cr

Adhunik Metaliks Ltd has reported net profit of Rs 20.21 crore on sales, net of excise, of Rs 176.38 crore for July to September 2006-07 quarter as compared to 15.54 crores in April to June quarter of 2006-07.

Adhuniks net sales for the half year ended September 30th 2006 stood at Rs 347.16 crore as against sales of Rs 423.78 crore for the year to March 31st 2006. Net profit for the current half year at Rs 35.74 crore has already crossed last years PAT of Rs 33.71 crore.

As per the release, as its shares were listed on April 5, 2006 and the figures for the corresponding three months period ended September 30th 2005 are not available separately and hence a quarter on quarter performance comparison is not provided.

Shipping ministry report points completion of delayed projects

According to the union ministry of shippings status report of important ongoing schemes of major ports as on June 30th 2006, 12 projects for development of major ports at an investment of Rs 1,350 crore, which are running behind schedule, are likely to be completed before the year end.

As per report, the project delayed for various reasons include Rs 25.5 crore additional facility to handle crude oil at Vadinar in Kandla port, Rs 33 crore construction of a 4 lane road from Mormugao port to Verna junction on NH-17, deepening & widening of main harbor channel and the JN port channel and Rs 38 crore Ennore-Manali, Expressway.

As per report, 7 major projects worth Rs 270 crore are progressing as per schedule including Rs 155 crore projects to deepen the channel at the Paradip port, Rs 47 crore projects to construct berth number 2 at the Haldia Dock Complex and replacement of four barge unloaders at the Mormugao port at Rs 35 crore.

Mr Baid appointed on board of JSPL

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd has informed BSE that its board of directors of at its meeting held on October 30th 2006 has appointed Mr Suresh Baid as an independent additional director on the board of the company with immediate effect.

Chinas steel products output up by 23.66% in 9 months

Citing strong market demand was the main driver for the output growth, China Iron & Steel Association has released various figures related to Chinas booming steel sector for January to September 2006 period.

All figures in million tonnes
* In billion Yuan
Change is wrt July to September 2005

CISA added that 'The import and export of steel products is expected to remain basically balanced next year following the narrowing gap between domestic prices and prices on the international market, as well as the effects of the governments reduction of export rebates on steel products.

Mr Luo Bingsheng vice chairman of CISA a media briefing said that China should still address the concerns of overcapacity in the iron and steel sector. China will by the end of the year tighten the requirements for iron ore importers and implement an agency system to regulate the iron ore trade and guard against speculation.

Nippon Steel to invest for making X120 pipes at Kimitsu

Nippon Steel Corporation announced plans on October 30th to invest in production setup for manufacturing large diameter welded pipes in API 5L X120 at its pipe mill in Kimitsu Works. The release said that the first mass production setup of its kind worldwide will become operational, ahead of all other competitors, in March 2008.

The release mentions that X120 and other high strength grades to be mass produced are expected to contribute to a dramatic reduction in development costs, while satisfying the demanding safety standards set in consideration of the surrounding environment of sites of many large, long haul pipelines being planned in various parts of the world in 2008 and subsequent years.

Nippon Steel believes that UO pipe's promising applications include offshore pipelines at depths of 2,000 meters and more in the Arctic region, Mediterranean Sea, and other areas, CNG carriers with new technology, and other development projects in otherwise forbidding environments elsewhere in the world.

Severstal moves ahead on IPO

Severstal has set a price range of between $11 and $13.5 a share or Global Depositary Receipt for its upcoming IPO outside Russia and is likely to announce the final price for its offering in London by the end of next week. It is expected that the company will make available 10% to 15% of its share capital when the listing takes place by the end of the year.

In the deal, Mr Alexei Mordashov controlled Frontdeal Limited will offer existing common shares and GDRs to international institutional and professional investors outside Russia, including qualified institutional investors in the US.

As per reports, Severstal intends to raise $1billion to $2 billion through listing its shares in the UK, which would follow the 10% of its shares that are publicly traded on the Moscow stock exchange.

The company has appointed Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, UBS Investment Bank as joint global coordinators and book-runners for the international placing.

Mr Alexei Mordashov CEO and founder of Severstal, at present own 90% of the company and this figure will fall to an expected figure of 75% to 80% by the time the flotation takes place.

Zinc prices moving towards $5000 mark

Dwindling stocks pushed zinc to a new record high on the London Metal Exchange on Monday and analysts saw the metal looking to reach $5 000 per tonne on strong demand. The key driver of price remains visible stocks in the form of LME exchange inventories, which have been falling for a long time and are now each day punching out fresh cycle lows.

In early trade zinc touched a fresh record high of $4200, but in the open outcry trading session it edged slightly lower, trading at $4150 against $4165 on Friday.

Mr Robin Bhar of UBS in a report said "Further falls in LME stocks are likely to tighten the zinc market further and coupled with any production problems, could push prices towards $5 000. Mr Bhar said that robust demand from the auto and construction sectors had boosted use of zinc in galvanized steel and die casting, while the supply side had been severely constrained by years of under investment in new mines and currently tight concentrate markets.

Zinc inventories in LME warehouses were at their lowest in more than a decade at 108,950 tonnes, down by 1,850 and against average daily world consumption of around 29,000 tonnes.

The price of zinc has more than doubled since the start of 2006 while stocks have fallen by over 80% since their peak in mid 2005.

CISA expects no big change in iron ore price for next year

China Iron & Steel Association said that global iron ore supplies will be more plentiful in 2007 than this year no big changes are expected in the 2007 prices of iron ore imports due to the rise in domestic production.

Mr Luo Bingsheng vice chairman of CISA during a media briefing said The iron ore supply status will get better next year. We will see either no significant increase or a drop in iron ore import prices for 2007 as domestic production is growing steadily to replace imports.

Danieli considering putting up a steel plant in Venezuela

It is reported that an Italian steel consortium has made a technological proposal to build and invest in a 1.2 million tonne steel plant at Ciudad Piar in south east of Venezuela expected to manufacture plates, seamless pipes and rails.

Mr Iv Herndez Venezuelas vice minister of energy and petroleum during a Latin American congress on iron and steel in Santiago told reporters "Progress has been made in economic feasibility studies. There will be a technological partner. Thus far, talks have been conducted with an Italian technological partner Danieli. They are providing technology and capital. The proposal is being assessed.

China sets criteria for coke export licensing

According to a recent official circular released by China's Ministry of Commerce producers applying for coke export license must record annual supply to coke exporters of 250,000 tons or above.

According to the circular, coke producers applying for export licenses must stay in line with the nation's industry access requirements for coke production, and register annual supply to coke exporters of 250,000 tons or above.

Coke trading firms are required to possess either of the following two qualifications
1. have registered capital of RMB 50 million yuan or above and average annual coke export volume of 150,000 tons or above in the last three years (2003-2005)
or
2. have domestic sales channels, and record average annual supply to coke exporters of 300,000 tons or above in the last three years (2003-2005).

As of Jan 1, 2007, coke exporters are required to purchase coke only from producers in line with industry access requirements for coke production (qualified producers list has been announced by the NDRC).

All applicants shall be reviewed by the CCCMC before a proposed candidate list is submitted to the MoC prior to Nov 25, 2006. The MoC will then evaluate all the candidates and unveil the final list of enterprises qualifying for the export license.

(Sourced from Mysteel.net)

New board of directors of Mittal Steel announced

Mittal Steel announced that as per merger agreement, the General Meeting of Shareholders has approved the new Board of Directors for Mittal Steel Company NV.

The new board includes Mr LN Mittal, Mrs Vanisha Mittal, Messrs Lewis B Kaden, Mr Wilbur L Ross Jr, Mr Narayanan Vaghul, Mr Francois H. Pinault, Mr Joseph Kinsch, Mr Jose Ramon Alvarez Rendueles, Mr Sergio Silva de Freitas, Mr Georges Schmit, Mr Edmond Pachura, Mr Michel Angel Marti, Mr Manuel Fernandez Lopez, Mr Jean-Pierre Hansen, Mr John O Castegnaro, Mr Antoine Spillmann, HRH Prince Guillaume de Luxembourg and Mr Romain Zaleski.

Mr Aditya Mittal, Mr Rene Lopez, Mr Muni Krishna T Reddy and Ambassador Andres Rozental resigned as members of the Board of Directors.

Mr Aditya Mittal will continue to serve as CFO at the Group Management Board of Arcelor Mittal.

As a consequence, the composition of Mittal Steel's Board of Directors is now identical to that of Arcelor SA.

Russian pipe output up by 18.3% in January to September

Russian Federal State Statistics Service announced that Russia has increased its steel pipe output by 18.3% YoY to 5.773 million tonnes in January to September 2006. It includes 2.183 million tonnes of seamless pipe up by 4.6% YoY and 3.417 million tonnes of electro welded pipes up by 29.4% YoY.

Rosstat said that production increased by 59.8% at United Metallurgical Companys Vyksa Metals Plant and by 39.5% at its Almetyevsk mill.

Production rose by 24.2% at the ChTPZ Group's Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and 2.3% at the group's Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant.

Pipe Metallurgical Company's Taganrog and Seversky mills raised output 9.8% and 7.8% respectively.

TMK's Volzhsky and Sinara mills reduced production 5.4% and 1.1%.
The Uraltrubprom mill in the Sverdlovsk region increased pipe production 37.8%.

Nippon Steel & Sumikin recovers from production cuts

According to Japanese media sources, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel Corp has returned to normal output levels after reducing its production for a year and a half.
The cuts were made in the face of falling prices and stiff competition from Chinese players but the subsequent recovery in the market has persuaded Nippon to remove the production constraints.

The company cut production by 20% in February 2005 and by another 20% at one stage in summer last year before returning to the 20% reduction this year. It now expects its production to rise by 7% to 1.06 million tonnes in the current financial year ending March 2007.

However, in mixed news for nickel demand, one of its works, Hikari in Yamaguchi prefecture, will switch production from nickel intensive to chrome intensive stainless.

Ilafa sees sustained steel demand in Latin America

Mr Roberto de Andraca president of Chilean integrated steelmaker CAP in his inaugural speech at the Latin American Steel and Iron Institute's 47th annual congress at Santiago in Chile outlines the deve;lopment of steel sector in Latin America.

He said that Latin America's macroeconomic perspectives indicate sustained demand for steel products accompanied by steady world demand for steel, region's steel industry is also experiencing a clear tendency towards consolidation partly as companies increasingly look for economies of scale and the enormous pressure on the demand for primary materials as countries and regions adopt free market policies to achieve rapid development.

Mr Andraca said that iron ore producers are working to open new deposits to meet the higher demand but most new mines will be of lower quality and at a greater distance from consumer markets. He urged Latin American steelmakers to develop downstream value chains in their plants and to deepen regional integration on the planning and development of new products.

He said "Luckily today the situation in most countries has radically changed thanks to the privatization of steel companies and the opening of trade with the elimination of tariff barriers.

TMK to raise about $1.1 billion from IPO Report

Reuters citing a source close to the deal has reported that the world's 2nd largest producer of steel pipes for the oil & gas sector Russian TMK will raise about $1.1 billion from its initial public offering

The reports said that TMK will sell its global depositary receipts at $21.60 and ordinary shares at $5.40 in an IPO that was 15 times oversubscribed, the source told Reuters. The order book for the offer was closed on Monday. As per report the placement would take place on the London Stock Exchange and Russia's RTS bourse.

Chilean CAPs profit dips by 22.2% YoY in 9 months

Chile's biggest steelmaker CAP announced that its January to September net profit fell by 22.2% YoY due to higher raw material and energy costs. CAP said that its net profit in the January to September period was $116.4 million as compared with $149.6 million in the same months last year. Revenue for the first nine months of the year rose by 16.2% to $750.2 million.

CAP in a statement said "Profit was due mainly to the performance of the mining business, where price and margin changes have been positive, and to a lesser extent, the business of steel production, which was strongly affected by higher raw material and energy costs.

CVRD Baosteel's Rizhao Pellet JV shelved temporarily

Mr Martins of CVRD during the recent China International Steel & Raw Materials Conference held in Qingdao revealed that its Rizhao pellet JV plant with Baosteel would be shelved temporarily.

Mr Martin said "Baosteel is likely to reconsider other possible sites for the project. And CVRD would continue to provide active support for Baosteel either as its partner or raw material supplier."

According to previous report, the construction of a 10 million tonne per year of iron ore pellet plant by Baosteel, Jinan Steel and CVRD near Lanshan Port-a subsidiary of Rizhao Port in eastern China's Shandong Province was due to start in July 2006.


The sources close with Baosteel has that the project has been put off as the local authority is not satified with the environmental protection assessment of the pellet proposal. The governmental official from Shandong province expressed their hope for local steel mills to get controlling stake in the pellet project. However, Jinan Steel and Laiwu Steel have yet to complete the merger, which has delayed the pellet project.

Shandong is also mulling over a 20m-tpy new steel project, which will be controlled by Shandong Steel too. Thus, the two projects may kick off simutaneously in the future.

(Sourced from Mysteel.net)

14th International Recycled Aluminium Conference at Budapest

Metal Bulletin is organizing the 14th International Recycled Aluminium Conference on 19th to 21st November 2006 at Budapest in Hungary. The international aluminium recycling industry is one that in this era of sustainability, energy awareness and ecological correctness, has a glowing future, in theory at least. The world should be looking to consume as much recycled aluminium as possible. And indeed there is no doubt that consumption and production of the metal from secondary sources is globally on the increase.

But this is cold comfort for those in the supply chain, secondary smelters and diecasters in particular, who have struggled to balance the books between soaring scrap values and ingot prices, which have only recently, stubbornly exhibited anything like the same degree of buoyancy.

For many, in the higher cost regions of the world, this has meant at best financial losses, at worst liquidation. The list of companies that have succumbed to market forces and failed to secure new investment lengthens. Some have survived, either through expansion-derived economies of scale, investment in new technology and automation to reduce costs, forays into niche or high added-value products, and last but not least, relocation to areas where the economics of recycling are more palatable.

As in many sectors of industry, this relocation process is seeing a move east and south, away from the established but higher cost markets of North America and Western Europe, into the CIS, Middle East, Asia and in particular China. Western Europe recycles some 3m tonnes of scrap per year; China alone imported 1.7 million tonnes of aluminium scrap in 2005, and with companies like Chalco and Shanghai Sigma investing heavily in new capacity, the demand for scrap from this part of the world is not going to go away.

Central and Eastern Europe have in recent years enjoyed some advantages in terms of lower labor costs, availability of scrap and incentives for new industrial investment. Many auto companies have moved east to take advantage of these, and with them have gone the supply base: OEMs, die caster and smelters setting up across the region. But today, nothing is so clear-cut and many of these countries, especially those now members of the EU, are sharing some of the pressures felt by their counterparts in Western Europe, in particular the keen wind of competition from the east.

International Recycled Aluminium Conference this year follows the shift in market dynamics and will be reviewing the prospects for growth in this vital link of the aluminium supply chain and the challenges that lie ahead for recyclers, from west to east.

Russel Metals reports 72% increase in Q3 profit

Russel Metals Inc has reported a 72% increase in third quarter profit on Monday on stronger steel prices and higher demand for its tubular products. It reported net earnings of $45 million for Q3 of 2006 as against $26 million in Q3 of 2005.Its revenues increased by 7% to $672 million in Q3 of 2006 as against $629 million in Q3 of 2005.

Mr Bud Siegel president and CEO said "All three business segments experienced continued strong results in the third quarter and we are on track to have our second best year of earnings.

Mr Siegel added The industry finds itself in a similar scenario to the fourth quarter of 2004. Steel prices have peaked for most products, the inventory pipeline in the service center sector is overstocked and carbon flat rolled steel prices have started to decline. Fortunately for the Company, carbon flat rolled steel only represents approximately 7% of our total product mix. The steel producers have experienced further consolidation within the industry since 2004, which is a positive development. There is a strong indication that the major steel producers will curtail production levels, which should help to keep supply and demand in balance."

Russel Metals is one of the largest metals distribution companies in North America. It carries on business in three distribution segments: metals service centers, energy tubular products and steel distributors, under various names including Russel Metals, AJ Forsyth, Acier Leroux, Acier Loubier, Acier Richler, Arrow Steel Processors, B&T Steel, Baldwin International, Comco Pipe and Supply, Fedmet Tubulars, Leroux Steel, McCabe Steel, Megantic Metal, Metaux Russel, Milspec Industries, Pioneer Pipe, Russel Leroux, Russel Metals Williams Bahcall, Spartan Steel Products, Sunbelt Group, Triumph Tubular & Supply, Wirth Steel and York-Ennis.

Raspadskaya to float IPO

Russian coal miners Raspadskaya OJSC will float 18% of its authorized capital, owned by its major shareholder Corber Enterprises Limited, at $2 to $2.5 per share during an IPO before the year end to raise about $400 million.

Credit Suisse and Deutsche UFG have been appointed IPO global coordinators. Credit Suisse, Deutsche UFG and Morgan Stanley will be joint book runners.

Raspadskaya OJSC comprises a group of enterprises of the united territorial and production coal complex in the Kemerovo Region. Its production totaled 9.7 million tonnes of coal in 2005.

As per unconfirmed reports, Mr Gennady Kosovoi CEO and Mr Alexander Vagin chairman owns 24.5% of Raspadskaya's shares each through a Cyprus company called Adroliv Investments Ltd. AIL in turn holds 50% stake in another Cyprus company Corber Enterprises Ltd and the balance 48.4% is owned by Evraz Group. Corber Enterprises Ltd is reported to own 98% of Raspadskaya's shares.

Inco Indonesias cuts nickel matte output for 2006

Inco Ltds Indonesian unit PT International Nickel Indonesia Tbk reported sales of $307.6 million in July to September up by 40% from $219.39 million in the same quarter last year. Net earnings in the quarter were $124.6 million nearly double the net earnings of $62.4 million in the same quarter of 2005.

Sales rose by 14% to $748.1 million in the first nine months of 2006 from $653.7 million in the corresponding 2005 period. Net earnings for the first nine months of 2006 rose by 17.4% to $247.9 million from $211.1 million in the same period of 2005.

It also announced that its nickel in matte output fell by 9.45% in the first nine months of 2006, mainly due to a fire at one of its furnaces. It said that it produced 111.1 million pounds of nickel in matte in the January to September of 2006 as compared with 122.7 million pounds a year ago.

Mr Arif Siregar president director of Inco Indonesia said "The quarter 2006 production was 37.8 million pounds in the same period last year. However, the financial impact of lower production was more than offset by higher prices received for our nickel in matte," He said that the furnace fire in late May was likely to cut this year's production to around 158 million to 159 million pounds from a record high output in 2005 of 168 million. The company had initially targeted 2006 output of 167 million pounds.

Nickel matte is an intermediary product from a smelter that must be further refined to make pure metal.

NDRC sees 7.5% growth in GDP for next 5 years

Chinas National Development and Reform Commission said that China's gross domestic product is expected to grow by about 7.5% annually in the next five years.

Mr Ma Kai minister of NDRC told the World Industrial and Commercial Organizations Forum in Beijing that GDP would reach $3.2 trillion under the current foreign exchange rate. He said the macro control policies had started to take effect this year, while the consumer price index remained very low.

Mr Ma said the government would further strengthen macro control efforts by implementing more stringent financial and monetary policies and using administrative means. He said "China will strive to make its economy to grow in a more healthy way by focusing on reining in the fast growing investment, loans and trade surplus."

In the first nine months, Chinas GDP grew at 10.7% down 0.2 of a percentage point from the first half and CPI stood at 1.3% down 0.7 of a percentage point from the previous year.

SDI announces 2:1 stock split

Steel Dynamics Inc announced that its board has approved a 2 for 1 stock split in the form of a 100% stock dividend. The split will double the total authorized common shares from 100 million to 200 million shares. The company expects to distribute the additional shares on or about November 20th to shareholders as of record November 9.

SDI in a statement said "This action by the Board is a clear indication of the confidence we have in our ability to continue driving growth and creating value for our shareholders by capitalizing on the exciting opportunities, both short and long term, that lie ahead.

OMKs Vyksa plant to install NDT control for rail wheels

The United Metallurgical Company's Vyksa Metallurgical Plant signed a 109 million ruble contract with Unitest Groups St Petersburg division Vimatek to supply a nondestructive quality control system for rail wheels. The equipment is supposed to come on line by August 30th 2007.

OMK said that the system will operate round the clock to provide nondestructive quality control that complies with RD-32.144-2000 requirements, the AAR and other international standards.

The system will include two control lines, each of which will include ultrasound systems to detect internal defects, fluorescent magnetic inspection of surface defects and laser control of the geometric parameters of wheels. The automated system will be able to handle up to 70 wheels per hour.

South Korean consortium eying stake in Ambatovy nickel project

A South Korean consortium comprising of state investment entity Korea Resources Corp, Daewoo International, Keangnam Enterprises and STX Group plans to take a 27.5% stake in Dynatec Corps Madagascar based Ambatovy nickel project in exchange of rights for over 50% of the eventual production.

Dynatec has already partnered with Sumitomo Corp on Ambatovy but has made no secret of the need to get a third strategic partner on board for the potential 60,000 tonnes per year mine.

Arch Coal grants funds to Marshall University for mine safety

The Arch Coal Foundation announced last week that it would donate a total of $100,000 over the next three years to Marshall University's new Mine Safety Technology Innovation Capability and Regional Business Development Program.

Mr Steven Leer chairman and CEO of Arc Coal in a statement said "This program will help focus some of the country's best minds on identifying new technologies and practices for the next generation of coal mining safety.

Marshall University at Huntington in West Virginia is a multi campus, public university providing undergraduate and graduate programs.