May, 25 2007
Indian steel makers asked to curb price increases
It is reported that in order to contain rising steel prices, the government of India has directed both private and public sector steelmakers to refrain from any price rise.
Mr Ram Vilas Paswan union minister for steel while addressing a press conference discussing steel ministrys performance for the past three years said that The steel industry and the government work together and the industry approaches us for various concessions. If they can't do this, the government will hesitate in giving any type of concessions to industry and concessions on custom and excise can be withdrawn.
Mr Paswan further said that a Steel Price Monitoring Committee has been set up under the ministry that would function as a watchdog to ensure free and fair pricing policy in India.
An analyst said that Commodities like oil and steel are major contributors to Consumer Price Index and Wholesale Price Index. As such, it becomes the need for the government to effectively regulate their prices, without which all efforts to contain inflation remain futile. Analysts, however, feel that this move wont affect steelmakers much as the yearly dull season that leads to a slight global recession of steel prices and extends up to October is already round the corner. As such there is no emergency for steel makers to raise prices.
Tribals ready to stop POSCO from mining in Khandadhar
The Telegraph reported that over 600 tribals from 17 gram panchayats of villages near Khandadhar in Sundargarh district vowed not to allow POSCO to start mining in Khandadhar area. They said that they would install bamboo barricades like the one at Dhinkia to prevent the entry of POSCO to the mining area.
Mr Bishnu Mohanty the state general secretary of Centre for Indian Trade Unions who spoke at the anti POSCO congregation said mining activities conducted by POSCO would dry up Khandadhar waterfall the highest in Orissa where water cascades down from a height of 245 meter. The area also enjoys a significant wild population.
Last week BJP backed Khandadhar Surakshya Samiti had staged similar demonstrations in the area to protest against the allotment of Khandadhar mines to POSCO.
The Khandadhar mines situated about 95 kilometers from the steel town of Rourkela have a reported reserve of about 180 million tonne of iron ore. Orissa government has recommended to central government for granting a 30 year lease to POSCO for mining of 600 million tonnes of iron ore.
Bhushan Steel Limited orders 2nd slab caster
It is reported that Bhushan Steel Limited have awarded a contract to SMS Demag for supplying of another single strand slab caster for the production of slabs of 1,300mm width. The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in autumn 2008.
The supply of the continuous casting machine covers plant, process and automation technology. This includes the mold with resonance oscillation which is equipped with a model for optimized oscillation aiming at improving the surface quality of the strand as well as the entire strand guide system. The vertical bending plant is designed for a maximum casting speed of 0.95 meter per minute Included in the spectrum of supplies and services are the mechanical, electrical and automation systems as well as the supervision of erection and commissioning.
Bhushan Steel Limited has already placed an order with SMS Demag in April 2005 for the supply of a single strand slab caster of 1,680 mm width and a Conarc steelworks.
JSL to modernize225 DTC bus shelters
Express News Service reported that the Delhi Transport Corporation awarded the contract for modernizing 225 Bus Q shelters for the Commonwealth Games to Jindal Stainless Limited, which out bid 7 other firms including French company JC Decaux, German Storria, Dubai based Laqshya Media and US based Clear Channel.
As per report, Jindal Stainless Limited has bid 369 % more than the INR 4.5 million reserve price set by the DTC for the modernization of all the 225 bus shelters.
The bus shelters are located at all entry and exit points to the Capital and around the Commonwealth Games venues. The routes selected by the DTC start from the Delhi International Airport to the Ring Road from Rao Tula Ram Marg also the bus shelters up to ISBT, Nizamuddin and areas surrounding Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Yamuna Velodrome the Games Village apart from the bus shelters around Old and New Delhi Railway stations and the Red Fort.
There are 5,000 bus stops in Delhi but not all have a shelter due to space constraints. DTC is encouraged by the response and will now be putting an additional 300 bus shelters for modernization by private companies. These additional shelters will be located at Subhash Nagar, Rohini and North-West Delhi. The tenders for the shelters will be floated within a month.
SCI plans to setup a shipbuilding yard Report
BS reported that the Shipping Corporation of India is planning a foray into ship building and is considering setting up a mega shipyard on the west coast of India.
As per report, SCI is looking forward to forming a consortium with existing shipyards is planning to join hands with international shipyards and make bigger vessels of global standards. It is believed that SCI and PSU shipyards will hold 50% stake in the venture and the rest will stay with the international shipyards. The move is expected to bring in technological know how into the country.
Global shipping industry is currently facing a shortage of new vessels as almost the all yards world over are overbooked till 2009 to 2010 and India is an ideal location for shipbuilding yards due to availability of cheap labor engineering capabilities, a steel manufacturing base and ancillary support.
ABG Shipyard inks MoU for acquisition of Vipul Shipyard
ABG Shipyard Ltd announced that it has signed a MoU for acquisition of Vipul Shipyard situated adjacent to its existing shipyard at Magdalla Port in Surat district of Gujarat.
The release said that With this the ABG Shipyard will add substantial land with a good water front to its resources along with slipway and other necessary plant & equipment for shipbuilding. This acquisition would facilitate further expansion of its shipbuilding activities and would enable ABG Shipyard to enhance its shipbuilding capacity from the present 32 to 40 vessels on modular basis in future. This acquisition will facilitate the optimal use of resources in its existing shipyard & new facility to synergize productivity and achieve economies of scale.
Mr Dhananjay Datar CFO of ABG said This strategic acquisition is a step to augment our resources for further consolidation of shipbuilding capacity in the growing segments of offshore, coastal shipping and other avenues of shipbuilding.
Increasing global economic activity and Indias booming economy have boosted demand for ships to transport goods. The rising oil exploration and production activities, too, have triggered demand for offshore vessels that provide marine logistical support to drilling rigs. As a result Indian yards are looking to grab a higher share of the global shipbuilding market and capture the space vacated by the closure of yards in Europe and other developed countries.
L&T to include port facilities at it proposed shipyard venture
Business Line reported that Larsen & Toubro plans to broaden the scope of its proposed INR 2,000 crore mega shipyard to an integrated port cum shipyard facility in light of cost implications of constructing a breakwater facility.
Mr KV Rangaswami president Construction and Board Member of L&T's told BL that We are now looking at a shipyard plus port facility. We need to invest quite a bit in a breakwater facility and it makes sense that the cost be shared by a port and a shipyard. L&T is likely to take a decision by May end on the location of the facility. Mr Rangaswami added that L&T's has been looking at three separate locations near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and Mundra in Gujarat for up to 1,200 acres of land to set up the facility.
L&Ts proposed shipyard is being billed as India's largest and the only one that would be equipped to build big sized carriers such as very large crude carriers with capacities of up to 300, DWT to 350,00DWT as compared to present capacity of 110,000 DWT available at Cochin Shipyard. L&T plans to retain majority equity in the venture but is open to having a small participation from other players.
L&T has forayed into shipbuilding as a major thrust area for future growth with a new shipyard at Hazira marking the beginning of the strategic initiative. L&T laid the keel for the first ship within 17 weeks of commencing operations at its Hazira shipbuilding yard in January this year. Detailed expansion plans for the Hazira Shipyard involve expanding capacity to construct eight vessels of up to 20,000 DWT per annum.
TATA Steel submits revival package for Incab
FE reported that TATA Steel has submitted the revival package for the sick Incab Industries to the Delhi High Court, which may now refer the matter to the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction. The size or details of the package are not available.
TATA Steel had earlier, at the behest of Incab's recognized trade unions, agreed to take over the once leading cable producer and worker union is optimistic about TATA Steel taking over Incab. As per earlier reports, TATA Steel has already conveyed to the unions that if it becomes a promoter, it might not continue producing cables at Incab as it said that the move to take over is more humanitarian than commercial.
RR Kabel and Pegasus Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd were in the fray for Incab Industries in 2006 when State Bank of India, the sick company's operating agent, was trying to find a suitable promoter. The Delhi High Court was still hearing the dispute between these two companies over Incab, when Incabs major unions approached it last month to consider TATA Steel too as a potential promoter for the sick company.
The sick cable maker Incab had around 1,400 personnel on its rolls in April 2000 when it stopped production here. Its second small manufacturing unit in Pune, which is said to be operational even today, employs around 500. Incab's head office in Kolkata had another 200 odd staff.
REL lowest bidder for Barwala power plant
It is reported that Reliance Energy Limited's engineering, procurement and construction arm has emerged as the lowest bidder for building a 1,200 MW thermal power plant on turnkey basis near Barwala in Hisar district of Haryana, for which Dr Manmohan Singh prime minister of India laid the foundation stone last week.
The power plant is being set up by Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd. The project consists of two units of 600 MW each and would be commissioned within 34 and 36 months. The project is proposed to be financed with debt and equity ratio of 80:20 with the Haryana state government contributing 20% of the total cost
Adani Enterprises 2006-07 profit up by 27% YoY
Adani Enterprises Ltd has announced the audited financial results for the quarter & year ended March 31st 2007.
The results for the Quarter ended March 31st 2007
Adani has posted a net profit of INR 662 million for the quarter ended March 2007 as compared to INR 653.5 million for the quarter ended March 2006. Its total revenue has increased from INR 32560 million for the quarter ended March 31st 2006 to INR 34269.2 million for the quarter ended March 31st 2007.
The results for the Year ended March 31st 2007
Adani has posted a net profit of INR 1506.9 million for the year ended March 31st 2007 as compared to INR 1183.4 million for the year ended March 31st 2006. Its total revenue has increased from INR 93392.6 million for the year ended March 31st 2006 to INR 101556.5 million for the year ended March 31st 2007.
The consolidated results for the Year ended March 31st 2007.
Adani has posted a net profit of INR 1732.8 million for the year ended March 31st 2007 as compared to INR 1345.8 million for the year ended March 31st 2006. Its total revenue has increased from INR 123428.3 million for the year ended March 31st 2006 to INR 169532.2 million for the year ended March 31st 2007.
Severstal buys a further 9% stake in Lucchini
Severstal has announced further purchase of 9 % stake in Lucchini SpA for EUR 85.2 million. Severstal purchased the additional stake in Lucchini through its 100 % subsidiary Upcroft. According to the terms of the deal Severstal also will get a pro rata number of warrants converted into Lucchini shares. Severstal now owns 79.82% of the shares of Lucchini.
Mr Alexey Mordashov CEO of Severstal said We are delighted to be increasing our investment in Lucchini. It is a great business which contributed USD 3.3 billion of revenues to Severstal in 2006. We plan to continue to invest in the business to further improve productivity and efficiency.
Mr Giuseppe Lucchini, President & shareholder of Lucchini Spa said that Such decision has been taken in harmony with Severstal and with its main Shareholder, thanks to the good collaboration and to the human relationship that have been created for over two years.
Italy based Lucchini produces high quality steels and long products in Italy and France and has a European distribution network. Its markets include automotive and railways.
NDRC to tighten control over steel sector further
Economic Operation Bureau of Chinas National Development and Reform Commission warned in a recent report that the authority would step up their efforts in curbing three energy intensive sectors, which include steel, cement and electrolytic aluminum as the fixed assets investment started to revive again for two straight months this year.
NDRC explained that booming investment in real estate has fuelled up the investment in above three sectors. The short supply in housing would keep property price high in the future, which in turn would boost demand for cement, steel and other construction materials alike.
Mr Huchi vice director of China Enterprises United Net told China Business News that the investment fever in energy intensive sectors will not cool down unless the economic growth mode transforms.
Meanwhile, healthy market environment both at home and abroad has hampered the transformation progress. Steady price increase in steel, cement and electrolytic aluminum from second half of last year has pushed up profits and given more incentive for domestic suppliers to expand capacity. And the global market has shown fairly strong demand for these energy intensive products so far and has absorbed most of the excessive capacity.
Administrative measures are set to be considered by the policymakers in the future in addition to taxation and monetary measures. Moreover, NDRC is working on setting up a backward capacity exit mechanism and tighten market accession qualifications like land and power supply, environmental evaluation etc.
(Sourced from MySteel.net)
US HRC price on down trend as buyers start to watch
Platts reported that most US buyers of hot rolled coil continue to show patience in the market, which is leaving mill order books unfilled and that based on reported deals, the Platts US price assessment of HRC has declined by USD 5 per short ton on Wednesday to a midpoint of USD 547.50 per short ton EXW Indiana. The report adds that the import price softened somewhat also to a midpoint of USD 555 per short ton CIF Houston due to scarce purchasing activity.
The report cites a major buyer for a Midwest service center as saying that I am in no big hurry. I have not ordered a pound of hot rolled coil for June yet, but a lot of mills are calling." He added that lead times for HRC remain extremely short in the US as little as two weeks in some cases. The buyer added that his own resale prices were as important an indicator to him as almost any other and he said they were down about USD 20 per short ton for HRC. He said "Demand in general is just not pulling. He said that that steel demand from the energy sector and some agricultural and gardening segments represented the relatively few strong demand pockets.
The report cites another Midwest manufacturing buyer as saying that "It's like an airline shuttle service. Every hour on the hour, a mill salesperson calls looking for June business."
With demand continuing to be soft in the US and faced with lean order books, some US domestic mills have turned to export markets, where the price of HRC has tended to be loftier so far this year. The report sites a number of trading sources as saying that Mittal Steel USA has indeed booked tonnage destined for Europe via Antwerp, but most of that tonnage, out of the 200,000 tons Mittal Steel USA announced it had allocated for export, has gone to it's own European warehouses. In early May, the typical export price of commercial grade HRC to Europe was about USD 530 per short ton to USD 540 per short ton EXW, but has since declined to about USD 515 per short ton EXW.
US demand for steel fell an estimated 8.25% in the first quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by Prudential Equity Group. The report said that "With housing starts down 27%, appliances easing in sympathy with housing, auto sales experiencing a minor drop, the fleet mixes of light vehicles lighter than average in the March quarter the overall market could be getting smaller." The report cited aerospace, energy exploration, refining, ethanol, electrical equipment, and various specialized capital goods niche segments as continuing to boom.
CVRD sees Chinas iron ore demand to go up by 8% till 2012
Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce sees Chinese demand for the mineral growing at an average annual rate of 8% through 2012. Driven by Chinese demand, the iron ore market was likely to remain especially tight this year, with an expected deficit totaling 6 million tonnes.
Macquarie Research quoted, Mr Renato Paladino CVRD's chief China representative, as saying that global iron ore seaborne demand would grow by 250 million tonnes between 2007 and 2012, with 76% of the growth expected to come from China. To meet rising demand, CVRD is expanding iron ore output towards 300 million tonnes this year from 264 million last year. It expected to reach 450 million tonnes in 2011.
Mr Paladino said that strong demand for iron ore by China has also pushed up dry bulk freight rates to historic highs, especially as it buys increasing volumes from distant Brazil. To reduce freight rate volatility for its Chinese customers Mr Paladino said that CVRD was building dedicated shuttle services, with a total ship capacity of 2.46 million DWT by 2011, including four especially large Chinamax vessels of 390,000 tonnes.
Voisey's Bay nickel mine shut by strike
Metal Insider reported that Voisey's Bay Nickel Co has shut down its mill in northern Labrador after a dangerous incident between unionized and contract workers prompted some staff to walk off the job.
Local media report that the wild cat action was triggered by an incident when a replacement worker mistakenly sealed a container with five union members still inside. Although they were freed unharmed by a manager and the replacement worker has been removed from the site, union members are now refusing to return to work until all replacement workers are removed.
Mr Curtis Saunders, VP of the local USW, give some idea of the tensions said that Everything is completely shut down until they resolve this issue, until they can guarantee the scabs removed from site."
Relations between the members of the United Steelworkers Union, which is also fighting for the striking contractor workers and the replacement workers, have been steadily deteriorating.
China looking for increase in thermal coal export price
Bloomberg has reported that Chinese coal exporters are demanding buyers in Japan and South Korea pay as much as 44% more for coal this year as output fails to keep pace with power station demand.
China National Coal Group the China's biggest coal exporter has offered a price that's competitive compared with the cost of coal from Australia. The report cites an official with China National Coal Group as saying that sellers want to raise prices by as much as USD 22.9 a tonne to USD 75 per tonne excluding freight. Japanese and Korean importers are reported to be looking at USD 65 as their maximum offer.
The coal pricing talks yesterday entered a second round after deadlock in late March. China National Coal is representing suppliers including China Shenhua Energy Co and Datong Coal Industry Co. Japan Coal Development, negotiating on behalf of 10 companies including Electric Power Development Co met with China National Coal yesterday. Discussions with Korea South East Power Co, a unit of Korea Electric Power Corp, is representing five potential buyers and will hold pricing talks on May 31st and June 1st in Seoul.
China, the world's largest coal consumer and producer, cut exports OF coal for a fourth month in April as domestic utilities build more power stations to drive the economy. Buyers in Japan and South Korea prefer to buy Chinese coal because shorter distances make it cheaper to ship than exports from Australia or Indonesia. Coal freight rates have risen to a record this year.
Taiyuan Steel to build Tianjin as SS scrap distribution base
It is reported that Shanxi based Taiyuan Steel will cement cooperation with Tianjin Yingchi Group, in an attempt to expand the reclaiming of stainless scrap as well as stainless steel products management and service fields and further to build Tianjin as the biggest stainless steel scrap distribution base in North China.
Taiyuan Steel with annual capacity of over 3 million tons whose demands of 600,000 tons of stainless scraps every year are all met by 100 plus stainless scrap reclaiming enterprises, which are too small sized to ensure the quality. Yingchi Group has integrated those small reclaiming enterprises, constructed normative job shops to raise added value of stainless scrap. It has formed stable reclaiming network and sales volume has increased from thousands of tons in early 1990s to 40,000 tons last year, driving it to become the biggest stainless scrap supplier of Taiyuan Steel.
Last year Taiyuan Steel and Yingchi Group have signed strategic cooperation agreement and Yingchi Group turned into the only supplier exempted from quality inspection. To strengthen the cooperation relationship, Taiyuan Steel promotes Yingchi Group's development by market means such as advanced capital, goods payment settlement and quality inspection exemption. Up to now the group's sales volume hits 35,000 tons, up over 16 times YoY. The figure will break 100,000 tons in whole 2007 and reach 150,000 tons next year. This will promote the group to become the largest stainless scrap supplier in China, and Tianjin to turn into the biggest stainless scrap distribution base in North China.
Meanwhile the Yingchi group also provides sales of stainless plates and charging quality scrap for stainless steel makers in Taiwan, South Korea, etc and becomes the general agent of stainless steel products for Tianjin Pipe. The group has sold 46,000 tons of above mentioned products, valued at nearly CNY 900 million, up by 5.8 times and 5.5 times respectively YoY. Sales network has covered regions north of the Yangtse River and the group develops into the largest stainless steel plates distributor in North China.
(Sourced from MySteel.net)
Outokumpu to expands ferritic grade SS production
It is reported that Finland based Outokumpu has decided to step up production of ferritic stainless steels due to a shift in the stainless steel market away from using austenitic grades with high nickel content. Outokumpu said that the movement in the market towards ferritic grades follows the recent sharp increase in the price of nickel.
Over the next few months Outokumpu will be stepping up production of two ferritic grades, EN1.4016 (type 430) used in interior decoration and household appliances and EN1.4003 used in transport applications.
Outokumpu said that it has begun a EUR 90 million project to replace the existing annealing and pickling line at Tornio to improve its ferritics production capability, as previously reported, and this will be completed by the end of 2008.
Ferritic grades represent one quarter of all those used in the world.
WBMS sees zinc market in surplus in Q1 of 2007
World Bureau of Metal Statistics announced that the global zinc market was in surplus to the tune of 119,000 tonnes over the first quarter of this year with reported stocks some 24,000 tonnes higher.
WBMS said that production of mine rose by 7% YoY to 2.558 million tonnes, while production of refined rose by 260,000 tonnes to 2.795 million tonnes. It estimates that world demand rose by 28,000 tonnes YoY during Q1 2007 with the most significant increases recorded in China and America. While the consumption of China accounted for 28% of the global total.
WBMS said that we dont yet have the comparable figure from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group but its preliminary take on January to February 2007 was that the market recorded a surplus of just over 40,000 tonnes in January to February 2007. However, it is forecasting a deficit of around 40,000 tonnes for the full calendar year.
Alcoa brings in Mr Rodier to help win Alcan - Report
According to Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper Mr Jean-Pierre Rodier former head of French aluminum producer Pechiney, before it was bought by Alcan, has been brought in by Alcoa to advise it on its bid for his previous nemesis Alcan.
The paper citing people familiar with the matter said that Mr Rodier, now a consultant with UK private capital company CVC Capital, has been brought in to help Alcoa steer a path through potential EU regulatory hurdles.
The issue of regulatory clearance for Alcoa’s proposed take over of Alcan has emerged as a key bone of contention between the two companies, the Canadian company accusing its US counterpart of having no clear solution to potential regulatory problems
Chengzhou to construct new zinc facility at Longnan in Gansu
Chinese Gansu Chengzhou Zinc Industry Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Gansu Chengzhou Mining and Metallurgic Group Co Ltd, announced the start of construction for its new 50,000 tonne zinc smelting project in the city of Longnan in Gansu Province's Chengxian County.
The new facility will have an output of 50,000 tons of electrolytic zinc and 84,000 tons of sulfuric acid per annum and the construction of the new facility is scheduled to start in July 2007 and be completed in July 2008.
Mr Li a Chengzhou Zinc official said that "Investment into the two projects, which totals CNY 720 million (USD 94.05 million), will be mainly provided by Chengzhou Mining Group and supplemented by bank loans." He added that Chengzhou Mining Group also intends to construct a 60,000 tonne lead refinery in Chengxian County in August this year, which will take approximately one year to complete.
Chengzhou Mining Group specializes in the mining and smelting of lead, zinc and tungsten. The company has a production capacity of 50,000 tons of refined zinc, 10,000 tons of refined lead and 3,000 tons of antimony per annum. Chengzhou Zinc has also recently begun work on a technical upgrade for its existing 50,000 ton zinc smelting line.
Mittal Steel SAs Saldanha to reline 2 BFs in February
ZeeNews reported that Mittal Steel SA will lose 100,000 tonnes of production at its Saldanha Plant as it relines two furnaces from February 2008.
Mr Heinrich Kriel GM of Mittal Steel SA told journalists in Saldanha that "The reline will cost about ZAR 250 million (USD 35.2 million)." The plant is set to produce a record of 113,500 tonnes this month.
Gazprom sets 3 new subsidiaries
Itar-Tass reported that the Russian gas company Gazprom has set up new subsidiaries Gazprom Pererabotka, Gazprom Pererbotka-Surgut and Gazprom Pererabotka-Urengoi as spin offs from Severgazprom, Surgutgazprom and Urengoigazprom.
The report adds that Gazproms assets in gas and liquid hydrocarbon reprocessing will be later consolidated in Gazprom Pererabotka, which will later become a major specialized division of Gazprom.
Gazprom is pursuing the task of enhancing the effectiveness of its activity as a vertically integrated company and of improving its structure of management of main daughter companies. As a result of structural changes in Gazprom work will be completed to separate financial flows in the output, transportation recycling underground storage and sales of gas and liquid hydrocarbons.
Globex to buy Razor Coal mine in Utah
Globex Mining Enterprises Inc announced that it has signed an agreement whereby, subject to a 90 day period of due diligence, Globex is purchasing 100% interest in the Razor Coal Mine located in Carbon County in southeastern Utah near the city of Price at Utah. The final purchase price is subject to a non disclosure agreement but consists of a cash payment and a capped royalty. Globex has made an initial refundable USD 250,000 good faith payment which is being held in trust during the due diligence which Globex has initiated.
Concurrently Globex has initiated third party discussions regarding participation in this venture.
The Razor Coal Mine is owned by Bronco Land Co and was previously operated by US Steel as the Columbia Mine a metallurgical coal facility, until it was closed in 1966 due to economic and labor issues.
The Razor Mine consists of an underground coal mine, 5,200 acres of fee land ancillary rights and facilities and significant coal resources. Bronco and its immediate predecessors have spent a considerable amount of time and money evaluating the Razor Mine Project and have made this data available to Globex. The existing Razor Mine plan foresees an operation producing 3.1 million tons of clean coal per year. Existing mains from the previous operations would be rehabilitated to convey coal to the surface as well as access and facilitate the movement of supplies and personnel.
General Steel Holdings to acquire 100% stake in Tianjin Daqiuzhuang
General Steel Holdings Inc announced that it has agreed to acquire from Victory New Holdings Ltd, a British Virgin Islands company, the remaining 30% outstanding shares of its subsidiary Tianjin Daqiuzhuang Metal Sheet Co Ltd. General Steel Holdings Inc will own 100% of Daqiuzhuang Metal after the closing of the acquisition.
According to an independent appraisal report the appraised value of the 30% interest is USD 9.304 million but the purchase price is USD 6.185 million representing the historical value of the 30% interest. For the acquisition, General Steel Holdings has agreed to issue an aggregate of 3,092,899 shares of its Series that will have a voting power of 30% of the combined voting power of General Steel Holding's common and preferred stocks for the entire life of General Steel Holdings.
Mr Henry Yu chairman & CEO of General Steel said that ''Our vision is to become China's largest non-government owned steel company and gaining full ownership of Daqiuzhuang Metal is a step in this process. By taking this action we wanted to remove any hint that a conflict of interest could exist in such a transaction. We are confident all General Steel stakeholders will appreciate our effort to grow our business in the most clear and transparent manner.''
General Steel Holdings, Inc through its subsidiary Tianjin Daqiuzhuang Metal Sheet Co Ltd is a leading manufacturer of high quality hot rolled steel sheets used in the construction of agricultural vehicles. Since 1988, it has expanded its operation to ten production lines capable of processing 400,000 tons of 0.7mm to 2mm hot rolled steel sheets per year.
Korea Line to buy 11 vessels as iron ore demand grows
It is reported that Korea Line Corp South Korea's plans to spend JPY 630 billion on 10 bulk carriers and an oil tanker as rising demand for iron ore shipments causes rates to surge.
Korea Line Corp said in a regulatory filing that the bulk carriers will be new vessels while the oil tanker is second hand. Korea Line Corp official said the vessels will arrive by 2010.
Blast kills 35 in Yuzhkuzbassugols Yubileynaya coal mine
It is reported that the death toll from a methane blast at 03:40 GMT on Thursday at about 520 meters below the surface in Yuzhkuzbassugols Yubileynaya mine at Novokuznetsk in Kmerov region of Siberia in Russia has risen to 35 with 2 people still missing.
Mr Valery Korchagin, an official with the ministry's regional branch, said 217 people were working in the Yubileinaya mine, including 28 who were in the immediate vicinity of the blast. Ms Irina Andrianova a spokeswoman for Russia's Emergencies Ministry said that some 180 miners were safely brought to the surface soon after the blast. Six of those rescued were injured.
Mr Aman Tuleyev governor of Kemerovo, after visiting the mine, told reporters that methane levels in the shaft had been normal at the time of the explosion and gas sensors had been working properly. He said that "We don't know why the gas exploded. Thank God the coal dust didn't ignite as happened at Ulyanovskaya.
Yuzhkuzbassugol will pay the families of the dead miners 1 million rubles, with additional payments based on the number of children and the dead miner's seniority.
The Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Atomic Inspection has formed a special commission to investigate the cause of the disaster led by Mr Andrei Malakhov, head of its Kemerovo regional office.
Yubileinaya, opened in 1966, is owned by Yuzhkuzbassugol. Yuzhkuzbassugol's ownership is split evenly between the company's management and coal and steel producer Evraz SA. An explosion at another mine of Yuzhkuzbassugols Ulyanovskaya in the region in March 2007 killed 110 people.
CSC to increase Q3 prices by 2.4% - Report
Reuter, citing a senior executive of Taiwans China Steel Corp, reported that China Steel Corporation will lift domestic steel prices by an average 2.4% in the Q3 over Q2.
CSC lifted Q2 domestic steel prices by an average of 3.24% from the previous quarter after keeping most prices flat in Q1.
On the other hand, SEA price trend setter, China's Baoshan Iron and Steel Co ahs decided to keep prices flat in the third quarter.
SKF & Baosteel to establish remanufacturing JV
CCTV.com reported that the world's leading ball bearing maker SKF has teamed up with Baosteel Group Corporation to establish a remanufacturing facility in Shanghai. The facility will turn used parts into new products and help Baosteel to build a green steel company.
The remanufacturing center will be run by a JV between the two companies with initial investment of CNY 22 million in which SKF will have a majority stake.
LGOK inks iron ore concentrate supply agreement with to Mittal Steel Temirtau
FIS reported that Russian Lebedinsky GOK has concluded an annual contract with the metallurgical combine Mittal Steel Temirtau Kazakhstan on monthly supplies of 40,000 tonnes of iron ore concentrate.
LGOK said that the contract with Mittal Steel Temirtau accounts for almost 10% of monthly export shipments of the LGOK's concentrate.
Amurmetalls Q1 earnings up by 90% YoY
Amurmetall a steelmaker, run by Siberian Amur Steel, announced that its net profit of RUB 2.472 million in the Q1 of 2007 went up by 90% YoY on revenue which also went up by 58.4% to RUB 2.787 billion.
Amurmetall in a statement said that its sales revenue grew as sales of metal products increased by 26% and prices rose on both the foreign and domestic markets.
Amurmetall last year reported a net loss of RUB 324.336 million as compared to a net profit of RUB 59.117 million in 2005 though its revenue grew by 18.2% to RUB 9.297 billion and pretax profit jumped by 70.6% to RUB 62.229 million. Amurmetall in 2006 increased production of molten steel by 1.86% YoY to 835,095 tonnes and production of roll by 1.67% YoY to 416,639 tonnes.
Amurmetall processes scrap metal and produces long and flat steel products. Mr Alexander Shishkin chairman of Amurmetall controls almost 100% of shares in the company.
Blast kills 11 at Xinglong coal mine in Sichuan Province
Xinhua reported that a coal mine explosion at the Xinglong Mine in Sichuan Province has killed 11 miners and 2 others are missing.
A Chinese local official said that 36 miners were underground when the blast occurred, but 24 were rescued from the shaft. He said that "Eight of them are injured and one died on the way to hospital."
The official said that so far rescuers had retrieved 10 dead bodies in the pit and were still hunting for the two missing miners. An investigation of the cause of the blast was under way.
The Xinglong mine, with annual output of 60,000 tonnes, was operating legally.
ISSF elects 2 new members
During its 11th Annual Conference, the International Stainless Steel Forum has elected Gerdau Acos finos Piratini from Brazil as new member and Polska Unia Dystrybutur from Poland as new affiliated member.
ISSF now has 69 members in 25 different countries.
The International Stainless Steel Forum founded in 1996 is a non profit research organization, which serves as the world forum on various aspects of the international stainless steel industry. ISSF members produce around 85% of the worlds stainless steel. ISSF is based at Brussels in Belgium and is legally a part of the International Iron and Steel Institute.
Korea Line to buy 11 vessels as iron ore demand grows
BS reported that the Shipping Corporation of India is planning a foray into ship building and is considering setting up a mega shipyard on the west coast of India.
As per report, SCI is looking forward to forming a consortium with existing shipyards is planning to join hands with international shipyards and make bigger vessels of global standards. It is believed that SCI and PSU shipyards will hold 50% stake in the venture and the rest will stay with the international shipyards. The move is expected to bring in technological know how into the country.
Global shipping industry is currently facing a shortage of new vessels as almost the all yards world over are overbooked till 2009 to 2010 and India is an ideal location for shipbuilding yards due to availability of cheap labor engineering capabilities, a steel manufacturing base and ancillary support.
