TATA Steel expects to pass 100% cost increases to users

Reuters reported that TATA Steel expects to be able to pass on virtually all of the rising cost of iron ore and coal to its customers.

The report cited Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel as saying that "Today we are seeing a situation of very strong growth of demand, and I believe that most of the increase in input costs will actually get transferred and translated into steel price increases.”

Asked how much of the higher cost of raw materials the company would be able to pass on, Mr Muthuraman said: "I would expect 100%."

He added that "Ultimately, I believe market forces will prevail, and there is very little one can do to arrest what will happen as to market forces. The Indian prices, I believe, will also go up with international prices."

POSCO Orissa plant startup delayed

It is reported that POSCO has accepted 6 month delay in starting construction of its proposed USD 12 billion steel plant in Orissa delayed to late September or early October 2008 from earlier committed date of April 1st 2008.

Mr Lee Dong hee CFO of POSCO said that "We are negotiating with the private owners and expect the construction should start in late September or early October 2008."

The proposed plant has been left hanging for more than 2 years due to stiff opposition from local farmers angry over losing their land for the project. It is also waiting for clearance from the Supreme Court for the use of about 2,900 acres of government held forest land.

TATA Steel eying stake in iron ore miner AVG Mineracao – Report

As per media reports, TATA Steel has offered to buy Brazilian iron ore mining firm AVG Mineracao, which is owned by MMX Mining and Metallics SA.

SBB quoted Mr Eike Batista president of MMX as saying that the TAAT Steel has made the offer. The report said that Mr Batista did not reveal the value offered by TATA Steel. He is quoted to have said that “A deal could be made if TATA Steel guarantees it will build a carmaker on the outskirts of Acu Port, the complex MMX is building on the coast of Rio de Janeiro.”

MMX bought AVG last year for USD 224 million. AVG owns an iron ore mine in the Serra Azul of the iron quadrilateral in Minas Gerais. It enjoys further exploration rights on other unexplored mines in the same area. It also has robust sales contracts with some major steel makers. The mine produces iron ore lump, sinter and pellet feed fines.

It has a current annual production capacity of around 2.3 million tonnes. MMX has plans to integrate this asset into its recently acquired Minerminal mineral company and expand the combined out put to 6.1 million tonnes this year and up to 10 million tonnes by 2010,

MMX put AVG on the block recently after selling two iron ore projects in Brazil to Anglo American for USD 5.5 billion in cash. Others in the race to acquire AVG, which MMX acquired last year, are global giants such as Nucor, POSCO, Techint and Rio Tinto.

DGFT makes correction in goods description regarding DEPB

Vide s NOTIFICATION No. 1(RE-2008)/ 2004-2009 dated April 11th 2008 Director General of Foreign Trade and Ex Officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India has notified the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-2009 incorporating the Annual Supplement. The policy shall come into force wef April 1st 2008.

Under the FOCUS MARKET SCHEME, Primary Steel Products as listed in Public Notice No. 130 (RE2007)/2004-09 dated 27.03.2008, have been amended vide Corrigendum dated Dated: 5-4-2008. It will be effective from 27-3-2008.

Product Group: Engineering Product Code: 61
The entry shown as Sl. No. 387 in Public Notice No. 130 dated 27.3.2008 shall be corrected to read as 387A, 387B, 387C and 387D.

The details of these serial are as under

However, NDTV reported that Union minister Mr Kamal Nath on Friday announced the Foreign Trade Policy for FY’09 and that the government has banned exports of primary steel which resulted in a major buzz in the steel circuit and also saw the entire BSE metal index plummet.

India to ban cement exports soon

It is reported that Indian government will ban cement exports soon a move aimed at calming prices pressures.

Mr Kamal Nath union commerce and industry minister said "Yes we are going to ban cement exports. I am going to sign the papers soon.”

TATA Steel commissions ferrochrome furnace at South Africa

TATA Steel has commissioned the first furnace at its ferrochrome plant at Richards Bay in South Africa. The plant is the first Greenfield project being built by TATA Group outside India.

Mr Somdeb Banerjee MD of TATA Steel KZN spoke about its corporate social investment program, which includes contributions to education institutions within the Richards Bay district as well as enterprise development and skills training.

Mr Banerjee said that it had started a training program in 2006 in the area as there was a lack of trained manpower. A majority of trainees are from the local African communities. He added that "On completion of their training, the company will employ some of them."

Mr Zweli Mkhize finance & economic development minister for the province of KwaZulu Natal said that the construction of the plant had created more than 1,000 temporary jobs. He added that once completed the plant would create 129 direct permanent jobs and an expected 900 indirect jobs. The electricity supply challenges facing the country would impact on the construction of the plant.

Mr Mkhize said that "We need to call for a partnership between the business, industry and government to support each other during the power crisis."

Orissa pollution board warns sponge plants

SNS reported that, under fire from several quarters over increasing pollution due to the mushrooming of sponge iron units and crushers, Orissa State Pollution Control Board with the help of the district administration sealed 9 units in Sundergarh and 7 in Jharsuguda recently on violation of pollution norms by sponge iron makers.

Mr S P Nanda chairman of Orissa State Pollution Control Board held a meeting with owners of 64 sponge irons making units of Sundergarh, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts here and told them in no uncertain terms that henceforth the department would not hesitate to take drastic action against erring units.

Mr Nanda pointed out that the general practice to shut down electro static precipitator during the night and operate it in day time to avoid inspections will no longer be tolerated. He added that "You have to dispose the industrial wastes at earmarked places in the respective areas."

Dr DK Behera senior environmental scientist of SPCB and Dr PK Prusty senior official of the forest & environment department gave a vivid presentation about the pollution caused by these units in the three districts. On the backdrop of the sealing of 16 units, these officials spoke about the objective of the meeting and also warned that the promoters should take the pollution more seriously.

Indian New Mineral Policy 2008

Mr Sis Ram Ola union minister for mines has announced the details of the National Mineral Policy as under

1) Broad features
In order to attract investment, both domestic and FDI, the new National Mineral Policy 2008, seeks to introduce a shift in policy from a Conservationist approach primarily conserving the minerals for current and future domestic use to an appropriate use of resources approach. The new National Mineral Policy 2008 has suggested policy measures like seamless transition, transferability of mineral concessions and transparency in allotment of concessions to reduce delays and discretionary powers which are seen as impediments to investment and technology flows in the mining sector in India. The mining policy also seeks to develop a sustainable framework for optimum utilization of India’s natural mineral resources for the industrial growth in the country and at the same time improving the life of people living in the mining areas, which are generally situated in the backward and tribal areas of India

2) Important features of initiative taken
A. Absolute right of a prospector to obtain a mining lease in the areas where they have done requisite work, implying seamless transition from regional exploration to prospecting and to mining, except for national security and specified public purpose
B. Unbundling of prospecting from mining, whereby prospector may invest, find and sell data
C. Encourage competitive exploration with state of art technology and investment with introduction of two new concessions like non exclusive reconnaissance operations and large area prospecting license
D. Introduce competition and level playing field by ensuring an arms length between the government as a regulator and as a miner
E. Promote auction of ore bodies fully prospected at public expense for transparency in allotment, recovery of cost of exploration borne by government & generate additional resources for the states
F. Allow state governments to give preference to a value adder in case of multiple applicants for a concession subject to other eligibility requirements. At the same time state governments cannot hold back grant of mineral concession if no value adder is available
G. Reduce delays in the grant of mineral concessions

3) Promote welfare of the local community and mainstreaming of the people in mining areas situated in backward and tribal areas by
A. Introducing a sustainable development framework for India based on ICMM model keeping in view the court judgments on NPV & compensatory afforestation, resettlement & rehabilitation package of the government and social infrastructure
B. Allow funds from mining companies to be routed to receiving beneficiary projects with local participation and NGO support
C. Mining companies to spend a percentage of turnover on social infrastructure as corporate social responsibility
D. Promote mining companies to grant stakeholder rights to project affected persons in project companies

4) Ensure fair compensation to the State Government by
A. Moving to an ad valorem basis royalty system
B. Propound increase in dead rent on escalating scale on unused areas, to dissuade idle holding of resources
C. Allow levy of fees on transfer of concessions
D. Propound several fold increase in penalties on illegal mining
E. Promote growth of Infrastructure in mining areas

5) Some additional proposed initiatives flowing out of the new mineral policy
A. Creating an empowered cum coordination committee at central & state levels to work as pressure point to reduce delay in grant of mineral concessions
B. Setting up of a mining administrative & appellate tribunal, which can be approached by an applicant in case of failure of the centre and state government to adhere to time limits
C. Enlarge the role of existing state level mineral development corporations as mineral infrastructure development and finance corporations for financing or promoting mining infrastructure projects through Joint ventures and special purpose vehicles
D. A mineral development fund to be created in every state by the state government by earmarking a portion of the annual royalty. Centre would make matching contribution to mineral development fund.

IMFA to add ferrochrome furnace at Orissa facility

It is reported that ferroalloys and ferrochrome producer IMFA Group has firmed up plans to invest INR 170 crore in setting up a 30 MW power plant and a new 30 mega volt amperes furnace at its manufacturing facility located at Choudwar in Orissa. The proposed investments would be made from internal accruals and debt.

Orders have been placed for a new 30 mega volt amperes furnace, the setting up of which will entail an investment of INR 60 crore. Mr Subhrakant Panda MD of IMFA Group said that “The new furnace is scheduled to be commissioned by the fourth quarter of 2008-09.”

He added that a 108 MW captive power plant was already operational in Choudwar. A new power plant of 30 MW capacity was being set up there at an investment of INR 110 crore. It would run on coal and coal washery rejects and waste heat gas that would be recovered. The new power plant, too, would also go on stream by the last quarter of 2008-09.

IMFA already operates 5 furnaces at Choudwar and Therubali, having a combined capacity of 157 mega volt amperes. According to him, while IMFA requires about 100 MW of power to operate both its Choudwar and Therubali plants, a new 30 MW power plant was being set up to facilitate better furnace utilization and meet the requirements of the new furnace.

IMFA produces 170,000 tonnes of ferrochrome and 18,000 tonnes of ferrosilicon a year. IMFA, which clocked a turnover of INR 590 crore in 2006-07, has pegged a turnover of INR 700 crore in 2007-08.

Golden Rock to manufacture SS wagons

It is reported that Golden Rock Railway Workshop will soon embark on the task of manufacturing stainless steel wagons which will have a higher carrying capacity than the conventional wagons. In the current financial year the workshop is contemplating to manufacture around 150 stainless steel wagons.

The workshop has developed a prototype of a stainless steel wagon as per the designs provided by the Lucknow based Research Designs & Standards Organization. Once certified by the RDSO, the workshop has planned to go in for production of stainless steel wagons in a couple of months.

While the carrying capacity of a conventional wagon is 68 tonnes, the capacity of a stainless wagon will be 71 tonnes. Further, stainless steel wagons will be non corrosive, sturdier and stronger than the conventional wagons. The stainless wagons would be slightly longer in length, width and height than the conventional one. These wagons, with polyurethane painting, would be supplied entirely for the railway requirements.

These wagons with polyurethane painting will be supplied solely to Indian Railways.

Coimbatore users to organize rally against hike in steel prices

It is reported that as many as 14 industrial associations of Coimbatore will jointly organize a rally on April 12th 2008 urging the central government to control iron and steel prices. The rally would start at VOC Park and conclude near the Red Cross Building.

A release from the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association said that the prices of all major industrial raw materials had shot up. It said that “Since January 2008 the prices skyrocketed, slowing down industrial and construction activities. For some of the products, the prices had gone up by 30% to 50%.”

The release added that “The units had to meet the orders already committed and were unable to increase the product price. If the situation went uncontrolled, the smaller units would shut down production and this would lead to loss of jobs.”

Ind Synergy to foray into steel, power and mining segments

In a policy statement, Nagpur based Ind Synergy Limited has informed that it is now focusing in steel, power & mining segments of business.

Ind Synergy has in this direction already started their 3rd expansion project at their integrated steel plant at Raigarh. To support this expansion program it has recently received equity contribution from Clear Water Capital Partner Singapore Fund III Private Limited.

It has placed equity with this company at a price of INR 194 per share by diluting the holding of the promoters by 11%. To remain focused, it has also decided to sell its soya extraction plant to Adani Wilmar Limited. The infusion of funds would also support it in exploiting huge mineral resources which is estimated at INR 8000 crore at its command in a systematic manner.

With all financial resources in place, its management is now fully engrossed in completing the expansion program and as well as operationalising the allotted mines.

NTPC to double thermal coal imports in 2008-09 –Report

It is reported that National Thermal Power Corporation Limited plans to double import of thermal coal in 2008-09 to meet its increasing needs.

Mr T Sankaralingam CMD of NTPC said that "New capacities are coming up and they also need coal. NTPC will double coal imports to 5 million tonnes in 2008-09 from 2.5 million tonnes a year earlier.”

Mr Sankaralingam said that it would spend INR 135.88 billion as capital expenditure in 2008-09. He added that by 2017, NTPC plans to produce at least 1,000 MW through renewable energy such as wind and hydro power.

NTPC made a provisional net profit of INR 71.3 billion for the year ended March 31st 2008 up from INR 68.6 billion in 2006-07.
National Thermal Power Corporation Limited has reported a 4% YoY rise in full year provisional net profit and said that it would double coal imports in 2008-09 as it expands capacity. NTPC, which has a generation capacity of 29,144 MW, plans to add 22,430 MW by 2012 and take the total to 75,000 MW by 2017.

POSCO to pay more to displaced persons but after SC nod

BS reported that POSCO will announce an additional package for the project displaced families after the Supreme Court clears its forest diversion proposal. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on April 25th 2008.

POSCO has stated that a decision to start the construction work for the steel project can be taken only after the forest clearance is obtained. Mr GW Sung director of POSCO India project said that "We need forest clearance for starting the construction work. We are talking to Dhinkia people and the problem will be solved in a couple of months."

Mr Priyabrata Patnaik nodal officer of POSCO India project and also the principal secretary of state transport & commerce said that "POSCO will announce an additional package for the families to be displaced after Supreme Court clears the forest diversion proposal." He added that the government can take a decision regarding the physical construction of the project after the Supreme Court clears the forest diversion proposal.

Mr Patnaik said that an equal amount of compensatory afforestation will be taken up in Cuttack, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur districts. He, however, did not give the details of the additional package to be announced by POSCO.

At present POSCO has about 512 acres of non encroached non forest government land in its possession and the clearance for diversion of some 2,900 acre of forest land is before the Supreme Court. Apart from that, it also requires about 438 acres of private land for which demarcation and socio economic survey were completed recently. However, the price for acquiring the private land is yet to be finalized.

Royalty structure under New Mineral Policy 2008

Mr Sis Ram Ola union minister for mines has announced the details of revision of royalty rates and dead rent. The main highlights of the revised rates are as follows

1. Royalty rates for minerals amphibole asbestos, china clay or kaolin, graphite, iron ore, quartz, silica sand, moulding sand and quartzite and uranium to be shifted from tonnage basis system of royalty to ad valorem basis

2. Royalty rates for 9 minerals, chrysotile asbestos, dolomite, limestone, lime kankar, lime shell, monazite, ochre, slate and tungsten, would continue to attract unit of production based royalty because it was held that shifting over to ad valorem rates for these minerals is not administratively feasible

3. For base metals and bauxite & laterite dispatched for extraction of alumina and aluminum, the rates of royalty would continue to be linked to the international benchmark metal prices. This would ensure higher royalty payment for high grade ore and lower royalty payment for low grade ore. However in case of bauxite and laterite dispatched for non metallurgical uses royalty would be levied on ad valorem basis as per the national benchmark price published by IBM.

For fixation of dead rent the existing grouping of minerals into precious metals and stones, high value, medium value and low value minerals would continue, but steep increase in the rates of dead rents from second year of lease is proposed in order to discourage dormant holdings. For fixation of dead rent the existing grouping of minerals into precious metals and stones, high value, medium value and low value minerals would continue, but steep increase in the rates of dead rents from second year of lease is proposed in order to discourage dormant holdings.

Dr Chattopadhyay appointed as new JMD of TATA Refractories

SNS reported that Dr AK Chattopadhyay has assumed charges of JMD of TATA Refractories Limited from earlier post of executive director. He has also worked as senior VP & CEO of refractories business of ACC.

Known as a distinguished refractories’ technologist in India, Mr Chattopadhyay has nearly 40 technical papers to his credit, which were presented in different national and international seminars and published in technical journals. In recognition of his contribution, he has been conferred with the 'Best Refractories' Technologist' award in 1996.

Eastern Railway freight loading dips in 2007-08

Eastern Railway’s originating freight loading in 2007-08 dropped to 44.8 million tonnes from 48.3 million tonnes in 2006-07 largely due to lower loading of coal in the mines under CIL Eastern Coalfields Limited.

Eastern Railway’s originating freight earning in 2007-08 amounted to INR 2,233.03 crore as against INR 1,804.73 crore, up by 23.73% YoY. During the same period the passenger earning at INR 1,170 crore as against INR 999.89 crore showed a growth of 17.01% YoY.

In 2007-08, the average freight loading in Howrah division was 1,235 wagons a day as compared to 760 in the previous year. Of this, the coal loading accounted for 484 wagons a day.

The improved loading of coal at Pakur under Howrah Division also yielded better revenue earning for ER because of the long lead. The Pakur coal was transported to as far as Ropar in Punjab whereas the coal loaded in ECL mines had much smaller lead.

Mr NK Goel GM of Eastern Railway said that the coal loading at ECL mines during 2007-08 was around 14.99 million tonnes as compared to 17.74 million tonnes in 2006-07.

He, however, exuded optimism that the situation would vastly improve in 2008-09 fiscal and set the freight loading target for the year at 49 million tonnes. The optimism is based on the prospect of improved coal loading at the ECL mines. Also, the freight loading under ER’s Howrah division was poised for a steady growth.

New Mangalore Port 2007-08 cargo traffic up by 12% YoY

BS reported that New Mangalore Port has handled a record traffic of 36.02 million tonnes during fiscal year 2007-08 up by 12.41% YoY as against 32.04 million tones handled during 2006-07 and up by 4.89% over the target fixed by the ministry.

Mr Tamilvanan chairman of NMPT said that the port had handled 55% of its traffic through rail and 45% by road. The port is also planning to increase its capacity by another 25% from the present 41 million tonnes by 2011-12. He added that as part of the business promotion drive, NMPT in association with the FKCCI had held trade meets to appraise on the latest developments of the port to importers and exporters of the state and to sort out issues which hamper the smooth flow of cargo through the port.

Mr Tamilvanan said that a team from the FKCCI visited the port recently and promised to divert more cargo to the port. A cruise lounge was ready and four warehouse sheds had been set up in the port to help cargo handling. He added that the port had already implemented the first phase of the port community system for online submission of vessel related documents and is planning to set up a second and third phase shortly.

He further added that the port’s future proposals include development of coal handling facilities for captive user, setting up mechanized iron ore handling facilities under berth number 14, development of bunkering facility and oil dock arm, bulk handling berth at the western dock arm, and setting up of the multi purpose general cargo berth.

Railway Board sanctions INR 86 crore for CLW

Railway Board has sanctioned work at an estimated cost of INR 86 crore for expanding the installed production capacity at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, which is now gearing up to produce 220 electric locomotives during 2008-09 and 250 locos in 2009-10. This is over and above the INR 40 crore sanctioned for additional machines.

Mr V Shankar GM of CLW said that a consultant is being appointed shortly to advise CLW regarding detailed design and specifications. Physical work on capacity augmentation is expected to begin in the second half of 2008 and set for completion by 2009-10.

CLW has also taken up a major open platform control project to eliminate dependence on the old vendor specific operating system for designing and adopting systems conforming to published open standards.

Unveiling CLW’s vision plan to produce a lion’s share of the anticipated domestic demand of 1,800 electric locos during the 11th Plan and also provide complete traction solutions at competitive and acceptable quality, Mr Shankar said that it is now resorting to selective outsourcing in certain limited areas where the in house capacity fell short of requirements. He said these are restricted to components and sub assemblies where expertise is readily available with the industry.
According to him, the total value of outsourced items during 2007-08 was INR 24 crore, which constituted a mere 1.6% of total turnover of INR 1,530 crore. CLW during 2007-08, also supplied maintenance spares worth INR 120 crore to various sheds and workshops of Indian Railways which were undertaking maintenance of locomotives and wagons. CLW, for 2008-09, has already identified more fabricated items for partially offloading and the value is expected to be INR 50 crore, some 2.6% of the anticipated turnover of INR 1,884 crore.

On the new types of locomotives under production, having achieved the targeted 200 locos during 2007-08, Mr Shankar said that CLW is producing a 5,300 hp 25 KV 3 phase 4 axle broad gauge mainline electric locomotive for hauling passenger trains.

Uttarakhand to invite bids for 50 hydropower projects

BS reported that, in a bid to tap the state’s vast water resources, Uttarakhand government is likely to invite open bids for nearly 30 to 50 hydropower projects by the end of April 2008. A government official said that all these projects are ranging between 5 MW and 25 MW and are situated all over the state. He added that "We are probably going for open bidding for all these projects."

Investments estimated to be in the range of INR 3,000 to INR 5000 crore are proposed in these projects which would be built on various tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna rivers. This is the first major decision since early this year when the government had announced the new power policy while deciding to give preference to local entrepreneurs and gram panchayats to build micro and mini hydel projects with a slew of sops.

Besides gram panchayats and locals, societies registered in the state are also being given preference in the power generation program. The projects have been divided broadly into 3 categories namely micro, mini and small. Projects with capacity up to 100 KW will be categorized as micro, mini will comprise between 100 KW and 5 MW, while small projects will be in the range of 5 to 25 MW. Big projects, however, will have a capacity above 25 MW.

The state government has also made provision for self identified projects. In this category, developers may identify projects, prepare the detailed project report and ask for allotment. In the other category, the state government or state sponsored agencies may identify the projects of any size, prepare the report and allot them. However, small projects would be open to all and there would be no reservations. For this, premium would be decided as and when they are allotted depending upon the capacity of the project.

CIL pays INR 1705.42 interim dividend for 2007-08

Mr PS Bhattacharyya chairman of Coal India Limited has handed over a cheque of INR 1705.42 crore to Mr Santosh Bagrodia union minister of state for coal as dividend to government of India for the fiscal 2007-08.

This is the highest ever dividend paid by CIL to centre, which constitutes 27% of the paid up equity of CIL of INR 6316.36 crore. In 2006-07, CIL paid INR 1500 crore as dividend which was 23.75% of the equity.

CIL as a whole made a profit before tax and dividend of INR 9576.22 crore provisional against the budgeted profit of INR 8462.31 crore during 2007-08, while registering a growth of 12.37% YoY over the previous year’s profit of INR 8522.22 crore. This is however, without taking into account the impact of national coal wage agreement VIII.

DHBVN to set up 59 substations of 33 kV

It is reported that Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam is planning to set up 59 substations of 33 kV and augment the capacity of several existing substations at a cost of INR 275 crore, within its jurisdiction and introduce a latest technology to set up these substations during 2008-09.

The jurisdiction of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam comprises of districts of Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Gurgaon, Mewat and Faridabad.

The proposed project will include erection of new 33 kV lines, bifurcation and trifurcation of overloaded feeders, segregation of rural agriculture and domestic load and installation of new distribution transformers.

Foundation stone for Koshlaya Dam in Haryana on April 13th 2008

It is reported that Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda chief minister of Haryana is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Koshlaya Dam in the Pinjore block of Panchkula district on April 13th 2008. The proposed dam will be implemented by the irrigation department.

An amount of INR 118 crore will be spent on the proposed project. This proposed urban dam will be 1,125 meter long and 34 meter high and will be first of its kind in Haryana.

The main objective of the construction of this dam is to supply sufficient water to the residents of Panchkula. The dam will also be used for fish farming and developed as a tourist spot. It will also be utilized for the drainage of flood water of the adjoining villages of the district.

Bids of Bara and Karchhana power projects opened

It is reported that the financial bids submitted by 6 companies to set up 2 thermal based power projects at Bara and Karchhana in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh with a combined generation capacity of 3,300 MW had opened on April 11th 2008.

Earlier, the financial bids were to be opened on April 5th 2008, but were postponed since some bid bonds were found to be incomplete. The technical and financial bids will together form the criteria for the award of the critical thermal power projects.

It may be noted that UP government is setting up 1,980 MW and 1,320 MW thermal power plants at Bara and Karchhana, based on supercritical technology.

BHEL to supply equipment on schedule for Narmada project

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has announced that it will supply equipment to the controversial 400 MW Shri Maheshwar Hydel Power Project on schedule. However it ruled out being an equity partner in the project. Mr RK Singh executive director of BHEL Bhopal Unit said that "We will start supplying 40 MW hydro turbines to the project from next year as per schedule."

BHEL has started supplying some embedded parts and equipment to the project, where according to a source, almost 67% of the civil work has been completed and work on the right side of the bank will soon start. The project is being constructed on the Narmada River in Mandleshwar town in West Madhya Pradesh.

An official source said that "BHEL will supply equipment at a discounted price in lieu of equity partnership. The discount is INR 42 crore and it will supply at INR 573 crore against the offer price of INR 615 crore. The cost includes 10 hydro turbines of 40 MW each."

BHEL will supply Kaplan type hydro turbines on turn key basis. The equipment supply will start from November 2008 and turbine supply will start from March 2009. After the first two 40 MW sets, BHEL will supply turbines at a regular interval of one month.

The project has been facing controversies since inception on rehabilitation issues, environment, economic viability and financial irregularities. At present the project is managed by lenders, mainly Power Finance Corporation. The INR 2,254 crore projects are also being funded by HUDCO and Rural Electrification Corporation. The project would affect 22 villages. Of them, 13 would be fully submerged and 9 would be partially submerged. It is estimated that as many as 9,459 families would be affected by the project.

BHEL PSSR 2007-08 turnover up by 11.9% YoY

BHEL’s Power Sector Southern Region, which includes the states of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa, has posted revenue of INR 675 crore during 2007-08 up by 11.9% YoY as against INR 603 crore in 2006-07.

Mr PR Shriram GM in charge of BHEL PSSR said that profit before tax dropped to INR 109 crore from INR 104 crore. Value added has increased by 4% YoY to INR 189 crore from INR 181 crore. It received orders worth INR 889 crore during fiscal 2008. Currently, order book outstanding is at INR 2,089 crore.

He added that during 2007-08 fiscal, PSSR received orders from 27 countries and made its maiden entry into New Caledonia in Australia. On future plans, PSSR is targeting a turnover of INR 1,700 crore by 2011-12 and exploring international opportunities. Other plans include new tools and plants, high capacity cranes of 1,000 million tonnes and above, manpower induction of fresh graduates and diploma holders, EPC in nuclear business of up to 700 MW, preparedness for executing supercritical thermal sets, developing a wider sub contractor base and building knowledge base in core areas.

BHEL secured all time high orders worth INR 50,265 crore from domestic and international customers during 2007-08. Of this, the power sector orders alone accounted for at INR 41,604 crore, industry sector with INR 7,860 crore and international operations with INR 2,311 crore. Total exports stood at INR 4,891 crore and has now joined an elite group of select companies with a market capitalization of over INR 1 trillion.

POSCO Q1 profit up by 5% YoY

South Korean steel maker POSCO’s net profit in Q1 of 2008 rose by 5% YoY from the same period last year, as higher steel prices helped it offset rising costs and weak sales of stainless steel products.

POSCO said it earned KRW 1.031 trillion (USD 1.06 billion) in the Q1 ended March 31 and posted net profit of KRW 982.31 billion a year earlier. Sales grew by 6.4% YoY to a record KRW 6.07 trillion on higher prices of cold rolled steel and auto plates.

POSCO separately raised its 2008 sales target by 17% to reflect record first quarter sales, but kept its operating profit target unchanged at KRW 4.8 trillion. It also raised its 2008 investment target to KRW 6.9 trillion KRW 6.7 trillion previously. It said that it remained confident of achieving this year's cost saving target of KRW 750 billion.

BHPB bid for Rio - BHP unaware of Chinese attempt

BHP Billiton Ltd clarified that it is unaware of any move by Chinese interests to spend over USD 20 billion for a stake in BHPB.

Responding to a stock exchange query, BHP said that the only factor of which it was aware that could be influencing a recent rise in its share price were favorable coal price settlements.

It said that "BHP Billiton is not aware of a proposed acquisition by Chinese authorities of a substantial stake in BHP Billiton.

The rumor was sparked by a media report that Chinese interests were preparing to shell out more than USD 20 billion to take more than a 10% stake in BHP Billiton.

NSSC accepts 55% hike in ferrochrome for April to June 2008

JMB reported that Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel have agreed with South African 2 suppliers by Thursday to increase the high carbon ferrochrome purchase price by 55% to April to June shipment from January-March.

The firm followed the widest hike and the highest price settled by European makers earlier to secure requirement under tight supply. The hike represents around JPY 28,800 per tonne of cost up for 18% chrome stainless products. Japanese stainless steel makers' would pay annualized JPY 150 billion more for chrome and the cost up could lift stainless price.

ThyssenKrupp Finnentrop coating line No 3 put back in operations

It is reported that a fully overhauled and modernized hot dip coating line No 3 at ThyssenKrupp Steel’s Finnentrop plant has been put back into operation on March 14th 2008 after shutdown of 5 months with new ability to coat not only with zinc but also with aluminum.

The entry and galvanizing sections of hot dip coating line No 3 were extensively modernized. A new pit was built where the zinc pot was previously situated and in it were installed both a zinc and an aluminum pot. The pots are made of ceramic material and can be moved on tracks to facilitate switches in production. The zinc pot holds 160 tonnes and the aluminum pot 60 tonnes.

The centerpiece of the EUR 12 million investment in Finnentrop is a 50 meter tall cooling tower colored in different shades of blue. The new, taller tower was necessary because the steel strip is very hot after coating, due to the higher melting point of aluminum, and requires a long cooling section around 50 meters. Arriving at a temperature of around 680 degrees Celsius, the strip is cooled with up to a million cubic meters of air per hour. Although the new landmark in Finnentrop is taller and wider than the previous cooling tower, the cooling process is actually quieter for nearby residents thanks to better insulation and modern technology.

The main customer for this innovative product is the auto industry, which uses it to make high value safety components. 100,000 tonnes and more of this product will be manufactured in Finnentrop in the future. The overall capacity of the plant is around 450,000 tonnes of coated steel strip per year.

Techint seeking presidential help in Sidor privatization

Daily News reported that Argentinean group Techint has asked Ms Cristina Fernández president of Argentina to defend it in view of the Venezuelan ruler Mr Hugo Chávez's plans to nationalize Sidor, a Techint subsidiary in Venezuela.

Mr Paolo Rocca CEO of Techint sent a letter to Fernández asking her to intercede with the Venezuelan government to defend the national capital.

Buenos Aires based newspapers highlighted the suggestive silence the Argentinean government has kept regarding this issue.

On the contrary, one year ago the Argentinean government persuaded Mr Chávez not to nationalize Sidor Venezuela's largest steel maker amidst a conflict with the company. Ms Fernandez's husband and predecessor ex President Mr Nestor Kirchner reportedly called Mr Chavez on behalf of Techint and helped put the brakes on government takeover plans.

Analysts have said the takeover is probably a done deal, but they think Fernandez's government could weigh in during negotiations between Techint and Venezuela regarding the terms of compensation for the company, which produces more than 4 million tonnes of steel slabs per year.

Ternium Sidor has been in a long-running dispute with its workers in Venezuela and the government has threatened in the past to take over the company.

Stemcor announces full year results 2007

World’s largest independent steel trader Stemcor has announced full year result of 2007.

The highlights of performance for 2007 are as under;
1. Turnover of GBP 4.254 billion up by 29% YoY
2. Operating profit of GBP 92 million up by 16% YoY
3. Pre tax profit of GBP 65 million up by 27% YoY
4. Exceptional profit GBP 16 million
5. Steel volume of 9.8 million tonnes up by 3% YoY
6. Raw materials volume of 10.5 million tonnes up by 11% YoY

Salient points for 2007
1. Achieved over 50% growth in tonnage sold in Continental Europe.
2. Acquired international stockholder Steel Plate & Sections.
3. Divested Savage River iron ore operations in Tasmania, retaining 10% stake.
4. Invested in iron ore mining and pelletization operations in India.
5. Launched Stemcor Risk Management to use the new steel futures exchanges to manage price risk both for Stemcor and for our partners.
6. Strong prospects for 2008, with solid forward order book.
7. In March 2008, acquired UK stockholder Barclay & Mathieson.

Mr Ralph Oppenheimer chairman of Stemcor said that “It is pleasing to be able to report another successful year, both in terms of results and strategic progress. The underlying numbers are not as good as the headline figures, because of the exceptional capital gains booked during the year. This was, however, a record performance. We again earned an after-tax return of over 40% on shareholders’ funds at the beginning of the year. Most of this return is retained within the company and our shareholders funds are GBP 150 million.”

He added that “Our growth in recent years has resulted from our ability to adapt to a changing world by reinventing ourselves through new strategies. One such important strategy has been to go downstream and provide more value added services, including holding stock for quick or just-in-time delivery and processing prior to delivery. In Germany, our distribution, stockholding and processing subsidiaries OKS, S+B Flachstahl and WSK hold planned stocks in 12 different locations. In the USA, 2007 was the first full year of ownership of our stockholding subsidiary, Kenilworth, in Warren, Ohio and we also hold stocks at a number of port locations. In France, Italy and Central Europe, our fast expanding businesses now hold unsold stocks at various ports, as we have done for many years in the UK. In 2007 we purchased a well established steel stockholder and processor, SPS, which is headquartered in Birmingham, England, but has an international business with special focus on the offshore oil and gas industry. SPS holds stock in Birmingham, Glasgow, Rotterdam, Dubai and Singapore. We are planning further acquisitions and, although we fully intend to go global in stockholding, we believe this will be more easily accomplished by initially building up a strong base in the developed world. With this in mind we have just completed the acquisition of Barclay & Mathieson, a general steel stockholding group with 12 depots in the UK.”

Mr Oppenheimer said that “2007 was a very strong year for steel trading. The unprecedented rise in the cost of freight, however, did have a substantial negative effect on our profitability. We do hedge our freight exposure as appropriate, but it is often not possible to do so effectively. Volatility in our markets is becoming more pronounced and increasingly it will become necessary for a steel trading company to hedge its risk exposure both to steel and to freight prices.”

Interim management appointed for Ajaokuta and Itakpe Mining

Nigerian federal government has inaugurated a 16 member interim management committee for the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company Itakpe.

The committee is made up of eight engineers, four legal professionals, two administrators and two architects. The committee has Mr Philip Umunnakwe as chairman, Mr Eugene Ekeh as vice chairman and Dr Ibrahim Madugu as Secretary.

Mr Alhaji Ahmed Gusau Nigerian minister of state for mines and steel, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, said that it is in line with the government’s decision to re-position the plants. He said that “The committee would see to the day to day management of the two companies pending the approval of a substantive management for the companies.”

The minister said the committee would also undertake following actions
1. To prepare necessary grounds for the conduct of technical audit on the plants
2. Determine outstanding staff salaries and pension benefits that were neglected during the concession
3. Ensure safety and maintenance of the plants with a view to avoiding deterioration

The Federal Government earlier this month, terminated the agreement with Global Infrastructure Holdings due to its inability to meet major provisions of the concession.

G Steel gains control of NSM

Bangkok Post reported that Thailand’s biggest HR maker G Steel Plc has accomplished its mission to take management control of Nakornthai Strip Mill Plc through its latest share swap with one of the latter's creditors.

Under the deal, G Steel issued 2.6 billion new shares to Whiterock Global Fund in exchange for seven billion shares of NSM, which has been under business rehabilitation, at a ratio of 1 to 2.41. Under the deal, Whiterock, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, has gained 19.3% of G Steel, whose former shareholders had seen their ownership diluted equally.

The deal took effect at the end of last month following the endorsement from 99% of G Steel's shareholders including its founder, steel tycoon Mr Somsak Leeswadtrakul.

After the transaction, G Steel became the largest shareholder of NSM, raising its stake to 49.62%. Previously, it owned about 33% through various share swaps with NSM creditors. G Steel will now consider merging the two companies' facilities into a single operation, as it would help maximize benefits and improve cost efficiency. Details of the consolidation have not yet been studied.

Mr Somsak said last month that ''We are aiming for synergies between the two steel operators which would have a combined capacity of about five million tonnes. It would also promote technology transfer to upgrade production to create the most profitable unit.”

ArcelorMittal wins EU approval for JV with Swedish firm

Xinhua reported that ArcelorMittal has won approval from the European Union on Thursday to form a flat carbon steel joint venture with Swedish company BE Sverige as the proposed transaction would not impede effective competition.

Steel service centres specialize in the finishing and processing of steel for the purpose of fabricating, plating or moulding steel parts. The 50:50 JV would combine the steel service centre activities of the parties in Sweden.

BE Sverige, which belongs to BE Group is a steel distribution company on the Scandinavian market and is active in the steel service centre sector in Sweden.

ArcelorMittal said last month it would create the third largest player in the market with sales of more than 80 million euros

Recession reports –Subprime may lead to USD 1-trillion losses

Mr George Soros chairman of Soros Fund Management feels that it is only now, that US is entering into a recession. CNBC-TV18 quoted Mr Soros as saying that the subprime crisis is likely to lead to losses worth nearly USD 1 trillion.

He said that “US has not yet seen the full effect of possible recession. The current US administration does not recognize the magnitude of problem. The situation in US going to get worse before getting better.”

Mr Soros believes that the willingness or fear to extend credit can create a boom or bust cycle. He said “Credit default swaps have become a large business. Credit default swaps can be done on a thin margin, min cap & large volumes.”

Mr Soros said “I hold this market fundamentalism primarily responsible for the current financial crisis. This is a man made crisis and is made by this false belief that markets correct its own excesses. That is the job of the regulator. And the regulators failed to perform their job.”

Mr Soros added that “It is a question of how flexible the market is and how soon the full extent of the losses are recognized. But I think the situation is more serious than the authorities admit or recognize.”

Mexican steel production in 2008 to go up by 4.2% YoY

Dow Jones reported that Mexico's steel production is expected to grow 4.2% to 18.3 million tonnes in 2008 despite the slowdown in the US economy.

Mr Regulo Salinas president of the National Iron and Steel Industry Chamber & CEO of Ternium SA's Mexican unit said that US steel consumption does not appear to have been affected so far by the slowdown.

He added that Mexico's domestic steel consumption is expected to rise 3.1% in 2008 from 24.8 million tonnes in 2007.

Mr Salinas said the chamber's long term outlook for the Mexican steel industry sees production rising to 32 million tonnes a year by 2020, which would mean additional investment between now and then of USD 19 billion.

The official welcomed the energy reform proposal that President Felipe Calderon submitted this week to Congress, saying that the industry's growth outlook would require reductions in the cost of raw materials, including fuel, between 10% and 20%.

In 2006, the steel industry accounted for 2.1% of Mexico's gross domestic product, and 13.4% of manufacturing output, according to the chamber. It accounted for 7.4% of the country's electricity consumption and more than 30% of its natural gas use.

Samarco project set for completion on April 18th 2008

It is reported that Samarco Mineracao SA, a JV between Vale and BHP Billiton Limited, is set to commission its third pellet plant on April 18th 2008.

The USD 1.18 billion projects encompasses the construction of a second concentrator plant of USD 275.6 million, a second pipeline of USD 295.1 million and a third palletizing plant of USD 600 million.

The investments also entail the expansion of the equipment and infrastructure facilities in the mining and port areas, worth about USD 12 million.

Xstrata facing law suit over lead levels at Mount Isa

AAP reported that a string of law suits has been flagged against Swiss mining giant Xstrata after preliminary test results revealed one in 10 children in the north west Queensland town of Mount Isa had dangerously high levels of lead in their blood. Lead can stunt the development of children's brains.

As per report, lawyers are preparing a test case for the family of six year old Stella Hare, who they allege suffers learning and behavioral problems as a result of Xstrata's heavy metal emissions.

Law firm Slater and Gordon, known for landmark asbestosis cases, claims she is one of at least 45 children that Queensland Health has found to have high lead levels.

Lawyer Damien Scattini said "What we're trying to show is that Xstrata has come into this country from Switzerland, it's purchased this mine, it's extracting record profits and it's at the cost of the community. A large part of the community is being poisoned by not only lead but if you look at the results for Stella, she's got cadmium, she's got arsenic, she's got strontium. She's got about 10 different heavy metals and poisons in her system at toxic levels."

Mr Scattini believes Xstrata's emissions have affected far more than 45 people because some of them are now adults and have not been tested by Queensland Health.

Nordic, Archelon and Kopparberg combine iron ore assets

Swedish minerals exploration and mining companies IGE Nordic AB, Archelon Mineral AB and Kopparberg Mineral AB announced on April 9th 2008 an agreement to establish a joint iron ore exploration company.

The new company will combine the parent companies' 12 Swedish exploration license areas, 10 of which are located in the Bergslagen area.

The combined exploration activities will be managed by Kopparberg Mineral.

Recession reports –IMF lowers world growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund has sharply lowered its forecast for the world's economic growth due to the US credit crunch. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF put the world growth at 3.7% in 2008, 1.25% lower than the growth rate in 2007.

The IMF said the US would go into a mild recession this year, predicting a sharp cut in its economic output from 2.2% in 2007 to 0.5% this year.

The fund also said there was a 25-percent chance that the growth in world economy will fall below three percent signaling global recession.

US trade gap widens to USD 62.3 billion in February

According to a US government report, the US trade deficit widened unexpectedly in February as imports of consumer and other goods set a record and grew faster than exports, which hit a record for the 12th consecutive month. According to the report the monthly deficit widened 5.7% to USD 62.3 billion, from an upwardly revised estimate of USD 59 billion for January. Wall Street analysts had expected the gap to narrow to USD 57.5 billion.

Meanwhile, a Labor Department report showed that the number of US workers applying for unemployment benefits tumbled by a greater than expected 53,000 last week. However, the four week moving average of new claims, a more reliable guide to underlying labor market trends because it smoothens weekly data fluctuation, rose to 378,250, the highest since October, 2005.

Mr Michael Darda chief economist with MKM Partners LLC at Greenwich in Connecticut said that “The four week moving average has been in an uptrend for a while, consistent with an economy losing steam.”

US Treasury debt prices held onto gains after the data, while the dollar remained lower. US stock indexes pared losses slightly on the drop in weekly jobless claims.

The Commerce Department report showed, despite slow US economic growth that has spawned fears of a recession, imports of goods and services rose 3.1% to USD 213.7 billion.

Formosa to start construction of steel plant in Vietnam by 2008 end

Thanhnien reported that Taiwan’s biggest diversified industrial company Formosa Plastics Group is planning to spend USD 2.57 billion to set up a steelmaker in Vietnam and take a 95% stake in the venture.

Mr K H Wu president of Formosa Heavy Industries Corp in an interview said that a new company may start building the mill with annual capacity of 7.5 million tonnes by the end of 2008 and the production from the mill will probably start three years after construction begins.

Formosa Plastics is expanding in Vietnam to cut costs and tap the Southeast Asian market.

Rebar prices in US to surge further

It is reported that leading the rebar market in US Nucor, has increased its rebar price by USD 162 per ton for May due to price hike on scrap, driving the ex work prices to USD 985 per ton to USD 998 per ton.

Nucor said that the price rise will be in effect immediately.

So far, the import price of rebar in US mostly is between USD 948 per ton to USD 970 per ton. However, it is expected that the price is going to be increased soon as a result of latest offer price nearly USD 1102 per ton released by mills.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

Venezuela and Cuba to construct nickel iron foundry

AP reported that Venezuela government has approved funding to build an iron and nickel foundry with Cuba.

As per report Cuba is among the world's largest producers of nickel, which is used to make stainless steel. Venezuela and Cuba signed an agreement last year to produce stainless steel using Cuban nickel a project slated to involve some USD 1.1 billion in joint investment.

Mr Hugo Chavez president of Venezuela said that "We have large iron reserves, Cuba has large nickel reserves, adding that Venezuela has not made the necessary alliances to process the metals domestically.

But Mr Chavez did not say that how much money it would take to build the foundry or where it would be located.

Vale plans to invest USD 2.1 billion in energy by 2011

Agencia Estado news agency reported that Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce SA plans to invest USD 2.1 billion in projects to generate electricity by 2011.

Mr Tito Martins director for corporate affairs of Vale said that the company already has invested USD 760 million in producing electricity for its own sites. He added that Vale's plans are focused on raising output from coal-fueled thermoelectric plants.

WCI Steel increases prices for flat products

WCI Steel, Inc has announced an increase in the base price of certain steel products effective immediately on new orders acknowledged for delivery on or after May 31st 2008. The price changes range from USD 110 to USD 130 per ton.

The new base prices are as follows:
Hot rolled – low carbon: USD 50/cwt = USD 1,000 per ton
Cold rolled – low carbon: USD 55/cwt = USD 1,100 per ton
Galvanized: USD 56/cwt = USD 1,120 per ton

Earlier this week, Nucor and AK Steel made cost surcharge adjustments that essentially put their June hot rolled sheet prices at USD 1,000. Their steel price hike announcements cited unprecedented growth in scrap and other input costs as the key drivers behind the increases.

Ugitech increases prices of SS bars and wire rod

Ugitech Schmolz+Bickenbach AG announced that all its subsidiaries will review all its long stainless products base prices for new orders to take into account the inflation in all transformation costs like energy, salary, maintenance, consumables and processing.

The increase will be EUR 150 per tonne for bars products and EUR 100 per tonne for wires and wire rod.

For markets quoted in a different currency, the same increase will be translated in this currency.

Xstrata shows concern over health of Mount Isa community

Xstrata’s Mount Isa Mines has restated its commitment to the health of the residents of Mount Isa, including its employees and their families. Mr Steve de Kruijff COO of Xstrata Copper North Queensland said that the company takes the issue of lead management in the community very seriously and we are working closely with key community stakeholders, especially the Mount Isa City Council and the Queensland State Government, to manage lead levels in Mount Isa.”

He said that “Naturally we are very concerned to hear about individual cases of high lead levels in local children however it is not appropriate for us to comment on specific cases which are being managed through Queensland Health and we are also not aware of any legal action pertaining to individuals who have elevated blood lead levels.”

He added that “It is important for us to obtain the full results and analysis of the Queensland Health testing program of 400 children aged 1 to 4 years which concluded last December. Queensland Health expects this report to be released within the next six weeks and the full report will identify the priorities Queensland Health, the Environmental Protection Agency Mount Isa City Council, Xstrata Mount Isa Mines and other community stakeholders need to act on in order to sustainably manage lead levels in Mount Isa.”

He added that “The reality is that lead is literally part of the foundations of our community and we all have a responsibility to ensure we manage our exposure to this naturally occurring mineral in our homes, gardens, workplaces and environment.”

He said that “Xstrata is committed to environmental management and improving its environmental performance in Mount Isa. We have comprehensive community monitoring through 15 monitoring stations operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have already substantially improved our environmental performance including reducing emissions from our Mount Isa operations since 2000. We are also conducting more detailed studies into air, land and water emissions through the University of Queensland’s Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation by world renowned toxicologist Associate Professor, Barry Noller.

Taiwanese API pipe export price to US surges

It is reported that Taiwanese pipe mills are going to increase the export price of API pipe to America under the circumstances of soaring cost on raw material and anti dumping complaint for China and South Korea.

As per report the latest price has increased to USD 1,150 to USD 1,200 per tonne up by USD 250 per tonne compared with the fourth quarter of last year.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

Metso Minerals signs service contract with Mexicana de Cobre

Metso Minerals has signed a service contract with Mexicana de Cobre in Mexico. The purpose of the one year contract is to provide maintenance services and manganese liners for 18 crushers at Mexicana de Cobre's copper mine in Mexico. The value of the contract is approximately EUR 1 million.

Metso service teams are present on site and they will develop, implement and operate tailor made maintenance programs. The maintenance programs will maximize the equipment potential and reduce operational risks and downtime.

Metso Minerals' team of experts in Mexico has doubled its sales for the Mexican market during the past years. The team of over 180 people is led from Irapuato where Metso Minerals has sales and service office and a manufacturing facility.

Mexicana de Cobre part of copper giant Grupo México is the biggest copper producer in Mexico, with a concentrator plant of 90,000 tonnes of copper ore per day capacity.

Mr Ferrerira joins Fine Tubes

Fine Tubes announced that Mr Charles Ferreira has joined Fine Tubes in the position of Western Europe Business Development Manager from the beginning of February 2008.

Mr Ferreira is presently based at Orleans in France and will be initiating a new Fine Tubes office based in Lyon. His office in France will be the second European based Fine Tubes office after the opening of the Munich office in Germany in 2005 with the aim to increase local service and support to European customers.

Fine Tubes is a manufacturer of high specification precision tubing in stainless steel, nickel and titanium alloys, with its head office at Plymouth in UK has announced the welcoming of another powerful driving force on board the sales & marketing department.

IMF Forecasts 2008 Korea GDP Growth of 4.2%

The International Monetary Fund predicts the Korean economy to grow a little over 4% in 2008.

IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook said that its projection for Korea is a 0.8 percentage point drop from the year before, citing domestic price hikes and soaring global oil prices.

The report said that Korea's consumer prices will jump almost 1 percentage point to 3.4 percent in 2008 given high global grain prices but will drop under 3 percent in 2009.

Western Metals to acquire UK copper zinc project

Australia's Western Metals announced that it has signed a term to acquire 100% of the advanced Parys Mountain copper zinc project on the island of Anglesey in North Wales from UK based miner Anglesey Mining.

The transaction is subject to a maximum 120 day due diligence, and on successful completion Western Metals will sign a formal sale agreement and pay Anglesey Mining AUD 7.6 million in a combination of cash and shares. On the completion of a successful bankable feasibility study, or three years, whichever is earliest, Western Metals will make a final payment of AUD 21.5 million in a combination of cash and shares.

The Parys Mountain region is rich in copper reserves, reportedly yielding in excess of 300,000 tonnes of the metal.

Mr George Bauk MD of Western Metals said that "We have consistently stated our intention to acquire a high quality asset with near term production potential that will complement our portfolio of world class exploration assets.”

Rickmers gets financing for funding vessel additions

It is reported that Singapore listed shipping trust Rickmers Maritime has finally secured debt financing, via two separate facilities, for just under half of its USD 1.3 billion new building program. Rickmers Maritime has secured USD 627 million in credit facilities amidst what it described as a demanding credit environment.

Rickmers Maritime said that with USD 45 million of an existing credit line undrawn, it has USD 672.5 million of debt in place, which will be used to partially fund nine 4,250 TEU Panamax Boxships

The debt financing comes in the form of a USD 497.5 million facility from seven major shipping banks, led by BNP Paribas. It also arranged a USD 130 million top up facility on its existing initial public offering credit with HSH Nordbank, DBS and Citibank.

Mr Thomas Preben Hansen CEO of Rickmers Trust Management said that “Despite the challenging financial environment, we have now proven to our investors as well as our clients that the credibility of Rickmers Maritime is as strong in global financial markets as it is in the shipping market.”

Group Mexico to expand copper capacity

Group Mexico SA de CV is planning to expand total annual capacity to 1.5 million tonnes in Peru as long as their labor and union issues at Cananea can be solved.

Group Mexico's expansion plan will be executed by its subsidiary Southern Copper Corp. Southern Copper is planning to boost copper production to 700,000 tonnes per with total investment about USD 3.3 billion.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

Emirates Steel investments to reach USD 6 billion by 2012

Gulf News reported that investment by Emirates Steel Industries will reach USD 5 billion to USD 6 billion by 2012.

Emirates Steel Industries has already completed about 85% of its first project at Industrial City of Abu Dhabi producing 715,041 tonnes in 2007 and targeting more than 1.45 million tonnes in 2008 at a cost of USD 1 billion.

Mr Husain Al Nowais chairman of Emirates Steel Industries said that "The biggest problem that we face is finding the necessary staff, as we went through a very painful process touring the world to get our workforce which is standing now at 670 people and will reach to 1,070 soon."

Mr Al Nowais said that to overcome this shortage, it has adopted two programs for the short and long term to qualify UAE nationals as industry experts and technicians. He added that "We are accomplishing this in coordination with Petroleum Institute on one hand in the field of metals and with the Abu Dhabi Vocational Institute in case of technicians on the other."

7 killed in explosion in scrap warehouse in Pakistan

The Dawn reported that 7 people were killed and over 12 others, including four female students, injured when a cylinder exploded in a scrap warehouse in Misri Shah in Pakistan on Thursday.

The blast ripped apart the roof of two godowns and damaged walls of other warehouses within a radius of 100 meters.

There were speculations that the explosion had been caused by a locally made bomb which the owner had purchased from a scrap yard. A police official claimed that traders at the Misri Shah iron market often purchased inactive and defused bombs and cannibalized them by gas cutting. But police officials have not found any evidence of a bomb explosion.

An office bearer of the merchant association told Dawn that the blast occurred when two welders were cutting iron sheets with an instrument that was linked with two gas cylinders and said that a gas leak might have caused the blast.

US DOC decides AD duties on Turkish pipes

Yieh reported that US Department of Commerce has released the final results on anti-dumping duty on Turkish imports of LWR pipe.

The AD tariffs will be 41.71% for imports from Guven Boru Profil Sanayii ve Ricaret, Sirkrei,MMZ Onur Boru Profil Uretim San.Ve Ticaret A.S.

(Sourced from Yieh.com

Dr Bhaskar Dutta appointed as CEO of Al Jazeera Steel

Al Jazeera Steel Product Company recently announced that its board of directors has elected Dr Bhaskar Dutta as its new CEO with effect from April 9th 2008.

PSM hires consultants to introduce IPOs in June

Daily Times reported that Pakistan Steel Mills has hired a financial advisory firm to streamline its equity generation program to introduce its initial public offerings in capital markets before the end of the current fiscal year. The IPO is under a jointly proposed program of PSM, Privatization Commission and Ministry of Industries & Special Incentives aimed at boosting its worth.

As per report, PSM has asked consultant firm to frame out all the core and complex assets valuation matters at the earliest as it wants to issue IPOs by the early June 2008.

The valuation of PSM’s core land was almost completed and the IPO worth is under consideration. However, the process of de bundling of core and non core assets is yet to be completed. The core asset included only 23% of total land holding of PSM.

After the Supreme Court annulled the PSM’s privatization deal on June 23rd 2006 the IPO of PSM had been proposed instead of the mills’ privatization. Later on the Privatization Commission had planned to issue the IPO of PSM in the 4th quarter of the current fiscal year.

Rak Minerals acquires 100% stake of TSCC Armenia

Rak Minerals & Metals Investments has announced the 100% acquisition of Armenian mining firm TSCC Armenia, thus successfully expanding its footprint into Eastern Europe. The covers 3 mining complexes spread across two regions in North and South Armenia and includes copper and other polymetallic minerals.

Rak Minerals has earmarked USD 200 million over the next 2 years to fund the acquisition and set up a concentrate plant in Armenia.

As part of the deal, TSCC Armenia’s mines will now be operated under RMMI. This includes 2 complexes in North Armenia in Karnut and Prevolnoye and in South Armenia in Larneshan. All three semi brownfield complexes are in close proximity to existing plants, and in geological analogy to operational mines in the area. The base metal profile is largely copper, with other polymetals associated with copper deposits including lead, zinc and molybdenum. Within the complexes, some deposits have also been identified as auriferous.

Dr Khater Massad CEO of RAK Investment Authority said that Armenia is rich in natural resources and well located between the markets of Asia and Europe. He added that "RMMI’s investment is the first of many opportunities for Rakia and Ras Al Khaimah and we hope to extend this to include real estate, construction and similar ventures that support economic growth."

Mr Madhu Koneru MD of RMMI said that "Our mission is to establish RMMI as a world leading mining solutions provider in the metals and minerals industry through strategic investments across the entire mining value chain. This acquisition in Armenia is a significant step in extending RMMI’s geographical spread equitably and establishes our foothold in Eastern Europe. Our strategy is to have a balanced portfolio across Africa, Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe, within range of our target markets of China, India and the Middle East."

In the next two years, RMMI plans to build a concentrate plant in South Armenia’s Larneshan region to process both copper and polymetallic ores into concentrates. RMMI’s ownership of the natural resources, as well as the capability to convert ores into concentrates, also opens up the options for the setting up of smelters in the future.

Iran to increase gas production – Report

Turkmen weekly Zaman Turkmenistan, in its latest edition, said that Iran has planned to increase gas output. It also said that the increase is in line with Iran's long term plan to boost the gas output to 240 billion cubic meters until 2030.

Zaman Turkmenistan said that Iran is due to invest USD 85 billion in gas production that 60% of it will be spent on gas extraction and research. It added that having 28 trillion cubic meters of gas, Iran is the second country after Russia owning gas reserves.

Iran's South Pars gas field is the biggest gas field discovered so far in the world, having 13 trillion cubic meters of gas. Possessing 5% of world gas reserves, Iran is one of the most important and effective countries in this issue.

Iran produced 105 billion cubic meters of gas in 2006 ranking 4th in gas production after Russia, United States of America and Canada. Iran is scheduled to reduce its oil consumption replacing it with gas in consumption pattern. It also plans to annually economize USD 15 billion on oil until 2015 by replacing gasoline with gas for cars.

Foolad Gostar inks JV pact with Rana Steel for steel mill

Mehr News Agency reported that Iran’s Foolad Gostar Kosar Company has inked a EUR 220 million deal with Turkey’s Rana Steel Company as a 50:50 JV for establishment of steel mills in the two countries.

Petrofac to build USD 477 million gas pant in Syria

It is reported that UK based oil and gas services company Petrofac has won a USD 477 million lump sum contract from Petro Canada to build a gas treatment plant for the Ebla project in Syria. The Ebla plant will be designed to produce 88 million standard cubic feet of sales gas per day and 150 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas per day.

Under the agreement, Petrofac will take a 10% stake in the Ebla production sharing contract.

Mr Maroun Semaan CEO of Petrofac Engineering & Construction said that "This is another significant award in Syria for Petrofac which, taken together with the Jihar gas plant award, provides us with almost USD 1 billion of work in a country where we have successfully worked on a number of projects."

Petro Canada is the operator of the Elba project, which is expected to start production in 2010.

Kazakhstan and GFH to develop Kazakh energy industry

Gulf Finance House, a specialist in innovative economic infrastructure initiatives, in collaboration with the government of Kazakhstan and PFC Energy International, has announced plans for the latest project in its Energy City series namely The Caspian Energy Hub Kazakhstan.

The concept was presented to Mr Nursultan Nazarbayev President of Kazakhstan by Mr Esam Janahi chairman of Gulf Finance House and Mr Vahan Zanoyan president & CEO of PFC Energy International.

Following the presentation, a signing ceremony was held at the Rixos President Hotel, Astana, during which a MoU was signed. With an estimated total investment value of USD 10 billion, this project marks the entry of GFH and its clients into Kazakhstan, and represents one of the largest foreign investments into the country.

Capitalizing on prodigious natural resources and strong economy, the project aims to contribute to the overall economic and human capital development of Kazakhstan by creating a services hub that caters to every commercial, technical and human resource need of the oil and gas industry in the Caspian region. In addition, the Caspian Energy hub also aims to become a major global technical training center for the oil & gas industry. It is expected that the hub would play a significant role in supporting the government's plans to double oil production and triple natural gas output by 2015.

To build on these objectives, the hub will develop a full service economic and business center catering to every commercial, technical and human resource need of the oil and gas industry operating in Kazakhstan, and ultimately, in the entire Caspian region.

Mr Nursultan Nazarbayev President of Kazakhstan said that "The Caspian Energy Hub is an important and integral part of the socio economic development of Kazakhstan. We have the vision, the will, and the knowledge base to implement an industrial, service, research and educational center of excellence that will attract the biggest names in world energy."

Mr Esam Janahi chairman of GFH said that "There are rich growth prospects in the Caspian region and Kazakhstan has a unique opportunity to deliver an unrivalled hub for the hydrocarbons industry. We applaud the vision of President Mr Nazarbayev and the Kazakh government and look forward to working with them to inject a new impetus and sustained long term growth into the economy."

The Energy City concept was conceptualized by GFH and PFC Energy International, an international energy consulting firm. Being the latest 'Energy City' project, following Qatar, India and the proposed Energy City in Libya, this venture expects to attract the biggest names in the world energy to Kazakhstan and deliver high returns on equity for GFH investors.

DP World after tax profit in 2007 reaches USD 419.7 million

DP World has posted a 52% YoY rise in after tax profit to USD 419.7 million in 2007. Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was USD 374.8 million while revenue grew up by 32% YoY to USD 2.73 billion.

DP World saw an 18% YoY rise in cargo volumes at its ports, higher than the 12% average worldwide growth in the sector. The strong results were mainly attributed to the rapid growth in the Gulf region. Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was USD 374.8 million.

Mr Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem chairman of DP World said that "Trading in January and February 2008 has been strong with throughput well ahead of the same period on 2007. Whilst it is still early in the year, and growth across global markets remains uncertain, we believe we are well placed to deliver good results this year."

Mr Mohammed Sharaf CEO of DP World said that "Expanding our existing portfolio remains key and we continue to see plenty of opportunities across all regions. We are confident we will continue to win new opportunities during the course of this year at the same time as progressing our current strong pipeline of expansion and development projects."

DP World said that it is looking at about 20 opportunities for expansion. It said it had no immediate plans to tap markets, and had not seen an impact from recessionary trends in many world economies.

Iraqi oil exports touch 1.9 MBPD in March 2008

Iraq Directory reported that Iraq has exported 1.9 million barrels per day of oil in March 2008, out of its actual production of 2.5 million barrels per day.

A senior official at the Iraqi oil ministry said that Iraqi oil exports amounted to 350,000 barrels per day from the northern area towards the Turkish port of Ceyhan and 1.55 million barrels per day from the southern ports, noting that the production of crude oil reached the limits of 2.5 million barrels per day.
The official also confirmed that the high oil prices in international markets will help Iraq to achieve additional oil revenues which he anticipated to hit more than 5 billion and a half billion in March 2007, explaining that a barrel of Iraqi oil is sold at more than USD 90, USD 10 less than American oil and at the level of oil prices in the region.

Future Pipe Industries wins USD 138 million Qatar order

Trade Arabia News Service reported that Dubai based Future Pipe Industries Group has won a major new contract to supply fiberglass pipes and fittings for the project to expand the seawater cooling facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar. The new order for phase 2 category II of the project is valued at over USD 138 million.

FPI, through its subsidiary, Future Pipe Industries Qatar, has already supplied Fiberstrong for a portion of Ras Laffan’s piping systems in connection with phase 1 and the category I of phase 2. By the time phase 2 is complete, FPI is expected to have delivered approximately 176,000 meters of Fiberstrong fiberglass pipes. FPI Fiberstrong pipe systems will be used for above and below ground seawater cooling lines, fire water and chlorination.

FPI will supply Fiberstrong fiberglass pipes for the cooling water system as this type of pipe system is highly capable of resisting the region’s high temperatures, which can soar to 50 degrees centigrade and the corrosive conditions from seawater. GRP pipes are also more efficient carriers, light in weight, durable and easy to install. The delivery of these fiberglass pipe systems in connection with phase 2 category II, which are directed through Athens based Consolidated Contractors Co, is expected to commence this year. The project is expected to be completed by the first half of 2010.

Mr Rami Makhzoumi president & CEO of FPI said that "This important contract demonstrates our ability to service some of the world’s largest infrastructure projects. Our home market, the GCC, is the fastest growing fiberglass pipe market in the world and it is here that FPI has proved that fiberglass can be the pipe solution of choice for the biggest infrastructure and industrial projects."

Ras Laffan City’s industrial port is amongst the largest facilities in the world for the export of liquefied natural gas. A common cooling water supply facility is critical given the scale of industries present there. By 2010, QP expects demand for more than 1 million cubic meters of cooled water per day as compared with supply of just under 600,000 cubic meters now.

Emaar inks MoU with DP World to develop KAEC Sea Port

King Abdullah Economic City Emaar and global marine terminal operator DP World have signed a MoU with regard to developing and operating the Sea Port of KAEC. Under the patronage and presence of Dr Jubarah Al Suraisiri transport minister of Saudi Arabia and Mr Amr Al Dabbagh governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority have hosted the signing event at King Abdullah Economic City.

One of the six key components of the 168 million square meters KAEC, the Sea Port will be the largest in the Red Sea and one of the top 10 ports in the world with a capacity to handle 20 million TEU. A multipurpose cargo terminal is scheduled to be operational by end of 2010 and a 1.6 million TEU container terminal by mid 2011 after which the capacity of the port will be increased on several phases. In addition to creating 15,000 direct and indirect jobs, the port is expected to contribute an average SAR 10 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP annually, on completion of all phases.

Extending over 14 square kilometer, the KAEC Sea Port will be equipped to receive the new generation mega vessels, with a nominal capacity of around 10,000 TEU and more, and will utilize global positioning technologies, advanced information management systems and automated processes.

Mr Al Dabbagh said that "Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority is committed to the Kingdom’s Vision to make the Saudi economy one of the top 10 competitive economies in the world by the turn of this decade. To achieve our goal, we encourage major local, regional and international companies to invest in the infrastructure to augment investment in high-growth strategic sectors, most importantly the transport sector, and thus enhance the competitiveness of these sectors, which contribute to overall economic development."

KAEC has 6 zones namely Sea Port, Industrial Zone, Central Business District, Educational Zone, Resort District and Residential Communities. Work is progressing on schedule on the first phase of the project including the Sea Port, Industrial Zone, Resort District and Residential Communities.

Depa plans to raise USD 516 million in IPO

Dubai based interiors contractor Depa Limited has announced that it could raise as much as USD 516 million in an initial public offering in April 2008 to help finance expansion, including acquisitions and entering new markets.

Depa plans to sell as many as 278.91 million shares at between USD 1.50 and USD 1.85 each and global depositary receipts at between USD 7.50 and USD 9.25. That includes an over allotment option of 25.36 million shares, representing a total of as much as 43% of the company. That would value the company at about USD 1.2 billion.

The final share price will be based on a book building exercise and the value of orders the company receives. As well as financial institutions, the sale is open to citizens of the six Gulf oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and to residents of the UAE, where Depa is based.

Mr Mohannad Sweid chairman of Depa said that "We will use the new proceeds we plan to raise to enter new markets and further strengthen our position in existing markets through acquisitions."

Khangiran refinery to boost daily output by 1.5 MMCF

Mehr News Agency reported that Khangiran gas refinery in the northeastern region of Sarakhs is planning to raise its daily production capacity by over 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas.

Mr Mohammad Reza Naghibi MD of Shargh Oil & Gas Company said that some 54 million cubic feet of natural gas, including 47.5 million cubic feet of acidic gas and 6.5 million cubic feet of sweet gas, is extracted daily from 45 oil wells of the region.

Khangiran refinery provides Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, South Khorasan, Golestan, Mazandaran and Semnan provinces with gas fuel.

Chinese steel export in March up by 34% YoY

China customs on its website posted that China exported 4.16 million tonnes of finished steel products in March 2008 up by 33.8% YoY. China has exported 11.39 million tonnes of finished steel during January to march 2008 down by 19.3% YoY.

Finished steel exports

Volume in million tonnes
Value in USD million

Semi finished steel exports

Volume in million tonnes
Value in USD million

BHPB bid for Rio – China eyeing stake in BHP to block Rio merger

Media is abuzz with rumors that China may soon direct Chinese companies involved in mining operations in Australia to acquire stake in Australian mining giant BHP Billiton on order to block a merger with Rio Tinto.

The rumors stemmed from a report in The Australian Today which cited an anonymous source in Beijing as saying that China is in the early stages of planning to acquire over a 9% stake in BHP, following a market raid in February where the Aluminum Corporation of China Group teamed up with US based Alcoa to purchase stake in BHP's rival Rio Tinto.

The report said Chinese authorities have not yet determined which state-owned financial institution or steel mill may take a leading role in seeking sellers from BHP's diverse shareholder base.

A steel industry source told Interfax that "A move by China to snap up a stake in BHP in an attempt to block a BHP-Rio merger has long been bandied about. By scanning China's current involvement in Australian mining projects, it's not hard to guess at possible candidates for the task."

BHP's share price on the Australian Stock Exchange closed up 3.74% from the previous trading day at AUD 41.91.

Chinese iron ore imports slow down a bit in March

It is reported that China's iron ore imports in March 2008 dropped by 6.6% MoM to 5.68 million tonnes as against monthly record of 38.21 million tonnes in February 2008. Although March arrivals were the lowest so far in 2008, they were still above any month last year except for January 2007.

The slow down is attributed to gradual declines after heavy buying in the first quarter ahead of expected price increases for the fiscal year from April.

China's iron ore imports for the first three months of the year totaled 110.66 million tonnes up by 10.5% YoY.

Volume in million tonnes
Value in USD million

BHPB bid for Rio – Chalco denies involvement in reported bid for BHP stake

It is reported that aluminum Corp of China Ltd is not involved in a reported bid by Chinese entities to take a 9% stake in Anglo Australian miner BHP Billiton.

Ms Zhang Qing Chalco's investor relations manager said that she has seen the report in an Australian newspaper but added that the company's investment program remain focused on aluminum and alumina operations.

She said that "I do not know of any plans at this point to expand in a significant way into other metals, referring to BHP Billiton's diverse portfolio of operations.”

Reports of a Chinese bid for BHP Billiton come after state owned Chinalco took a joint stake with Alcoa in Rio Tinto Ltd earlier this year.

Chinese steel market to reach balance in 2009 or 2010

Mr Luo Bingsheng deputy director of China Iron & Steel Association while speaking at the 3rd Mysteel International Steel Forum said that "China's steel market might turn a corner when the fundamental supply and demand has reached balance. It is widely expected that the turning point may come in 2009 or 2010."

Mr Luo predicts that China's crude steel output would advance by over 6.3% in 2008, which is set to increase supply to the domestic market. Moreover, Chinese steelmakers are faced with squeezed profit margin due to the escalating raw materials costs. A number of smaller mills have already been forced to trim production.

Mr Luo said IISI has already warned in December 2008 that global steel demand growth would slow down this year if the world economy grows at a lower rate from the year before. He said that "Weakening global steel demand would have tremendous impact on China's steel production and export this year."

He said the tight bank loan might dampen domestic steel demand growth and cause liquidity issues for the mills also.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Shougang Jingtang inks palletizing technology pact with Outotec

Outotec announced that it has agreed with Shougang Jingtang United Iron & Steel Co Ltd on the delivery of new environmentally sound technology for Shougang's iron ore palletizing plant to be built at Caofeidan in China. The contract value is approximately EUR 29 million.

The plant will be the first larger size plant in China using modern traveling grate technology. It will treat annually 4 million tonnes of iron ore and the pellet production is estimated to start at the end of 2009.

The release said Outotec's scope of delivery covers the basic and detail engineering, supply of proprietary equipment, instrumentation and control systems, supervisory services as well as technical training. The core of the plant is Outotec's pellet indurating furnace, which has a grate area of 505 m². Part of Outotec's services and supplies will be of Chinese origin.

Mr Tapani Järvinen president & CEO of Outotec said "This order from Shougang Jingtang demonstrates the competitiveness of Outotec's clean technologies. Investing in latest technology brings several benefits, for example better recoveries or larger output, lower energy and water consumption, smaller emissions, and improved working conditions. Today, these are decisive factors in industrial investments in China."

Shougang Jingtang is a joint venture between the Shougang Group and Tangshan Iron and Steel Company. The palletizing plant is part of Shougang's plan to relocate its operations from Beijing to Caofeidan. Outotec's modern traveling grate technology is environmentally sound and has therefore been chosen for the project.

Minmetals acquires Siegfried Pilz Sottrum in Germany

It is reported that China Minmetals Corp has officially acquired Siegfried Pilz Sottrum, a stainless steel service center near Bremen in Germany and plans to expand its capacity in the next few years.

Siegfried Pilz Sottrum is spread over an area of 20,000 square meters. The monthly steel processing capacity of this steel service center at present is 1000 tonnes.

Mr Wolfgang Pentzek, business manager responsible for the stainless steel department of Minmetals Germany said that China Minmetals was the managing distribution business of European steel through a warehouse in Antwerpen, Belgium.

As per report CMC bought a site near this service center and plans to double Siegfried Pilz in the next 3 or 5 years in order to provide different processing services. The center will mainly purchase raw materials from China but at the same time they welcome other suppliers from other countries too.

Walsin Lihwa to build new SS plant at Wujin in China

It is reported that Taiwan’s Walsin Lihwa is going to invest USD 700 million at Wujin in Changzhou in China to build up its new stainless plant. The construction project will be started in October and it will be commissioned in 2011.

The Wujin plant will produce both stainless steel flat and long products including steel plate, round bar and wire products. Also, Wujin plant will be the company’s largest steel plant in China and will become the company’s head office in China.

Walsin Lihwa now has four stainless steel plants in China which located in Baihe, Shanghai; Changshu, Jiangsu, Yantai, Shantung and the new steel plant in Wujin, Changzhou.

Dajiang Steel orders automation and drives for tandem mill

Siemens Metals Technologies has announced that it will supply all the automation and drive equipment for re building a five stand continuous tandem mill of Jiangsu Dajiang Metal Material Company Ltd. The continuous tandem mill is to start production at the end of 2009.

Jiangsu Province based Dajiang Steel is currently building a new 1250 millimeter wide cold rolling mill with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes. The plant will consist of a re built used rolling mill bought in the US and will be supplemented with equipment for continuous rolling. The mechanical components will be installed by a Chinese company.

Dajiang Steel intends to use the new plant to expand its production of flat steel products. Mainly low alloy carbon steels CR and TMBP would be manufactured at this mill.

For the main drives of the tandem mill, Siemens will be supplying DC link converters of the type Sinamics S120 in a twin drive configuration. The plant will be automated on the basis of the “Siroll CM” concept and in addition to the technological controls will also include the entire process automation system. The latter includes thickness control in accordance with the advanced mass flow concept, online rolling process control on the basis of analytical mathematical models and, finally, self learning neural networks. For flatness measurement and control, the non contact Siflat system will be used.

The scope of supply also includes new operator control and visualization equipment with user-friendly process and plant diagnostic functions. In addition, Siemens will supervise assembly and installation of all the components as well as commissioning, while also bearing responsibility for customer training.

Bayi Steel output in Q1 crosses 1 million tonne mark

It is reported that Bayi Steel produced 1.1037 million tonnes of steel in the first quarter of 2008 up by 19.84% YoY and 1.0451 million tonnes of steel products up by 17.2% with a medium plate ratio up by 10 percentage points.

WISCO inks long term ferromoly buying pacts

It is reported that International Economic & Trading Corporation under Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation has singed long term purchasing contracts with China Molybdenum Co Ltd and Jinduicheng Molybdenum Company Ltd.

Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation has inked purchasing contract with China Molybdenum Company Ltd early this year. Price and purchase volume of FeMo from Jinduicheng Molybdenum Company Limited is under negotiation with the contract set to be signed in the first half of this year.

The contract with China Molybdenum Company Limited can lock up annual supply of over 10,000 tonnes and lower purchase cost of several million Yuan.

FeMo is an important raw material for steelmaking. WISCO now demands some 24 million tonnes of FeMo every year. The figure is increasing and is expected to double this year.

Rizhao Steel inks iron ore contract with New Zealand Steel

It is reported that Rizhao Steel has signed an ore supply contract for 2008 to 2009 with New Zealand Steel during the latter's recent visit to Rizhao Steel starting Mar 3rd 2008.

As per the contract, New Zealand Steel will provide 250,000 tonnes to 360,000 tonnes of vanadium titano magnetite during 2008 to 2009 to the Chinese steelmaker.

New Zealand Steel founded in 1965 is a sole subsidiary of BlueScope Steel and mainly produces steel products with high added value. It boasts nearly 500 million tonnes of iron ore resources in west coast of New Zealand, feeding itself as well as China and Japan.

NDRC approves Wuyang Steel project

It is reported that on April 1st, NDRC had formally approved Wuyang Steel’s new line supporting project.

As per report, the total investment of this project is CNY 1.4 billion and would comprise of EAF and a large slab continuous casting machine and a plate mill of 600.000 tonnes of high grade plates production capacity. The mill will mainly produced X80 to X100 pipeline plates, LNG transportation ship’s shipbuilding steel plate etc.

At present, the project has entered into phase of equipment manufacture and is estimated to be completed by the end of this year. At that time, Wuyang Steel will have an annual output of 4 million tonnes steel and 3.6 million tonnes of billets and plate.

Baosteel on line purchasing system stabilizes

It is reported that Baosteel’s purchase and supply system has now covered the main branches in Shanghai with nearly 10,000 users totally and close to 2500 users on line each day averagely since it was put on line at the end of November last year.

It helps to realize the target of drive integration with information sharing and boost large scale operation with integration for the purchase and supply of Baosteel aimed at improving the purchase efficiency, optimize resources allocation and lower purchase cost.

Baosteel’s PSCS system started its construction in 2004, and was put on line officially in 2006, thus forming a complete set of information based business processing system applicable to Baosteel branch’s purchase and supply. As the integration process of Baosteel speeds up, it is urgent to further optimize this system.

Hanggang ink strategic pact with Shanxi Coking Coal Group

It is reported that Hangzhou Iron & Steel Co which lies in province Zhejiang, the east of China, signed long term strategic cooperation agreement with Shanxi Coking Coal Group on April 9th 2008.

According to the agreement, Shanxi Coking Coal Group will supply over 1 million tonnes of coal per year to Hanggang and Ningbo Iron & Steel Co during 2009 to 2013.

They have also agreed to further expand cooperation in a longer time in the future.

Shanxi Coking Coal Group is famous stated owned super sized coal company in China, which possesses abundant coal resources and higher exploring ability. It is also one of top 500 big sized enterprises in China. It produced 72.37 million tonnes of raw coal in 2007.

Siemens to supply key equipment for Shanjing II gas pipeline

Siemens Energy announced that it has received a major order from China Petroleum Material and Equipment Corporation for the delivery of 8 Variable Speed Drive Systems for the extension of the Shanjing II natural gas pipeline in China. The Shanjing II pipeline supplies natural gas from the western province Shannxi to China’s capital Beijing. The Siemens VSD systems will be installed in three pipeline compressor stations, and will start operating in fall 2009.

Mr Frank Stieler CEO of the Siemens Oil & Gas Division said Siemens will supply 5 complete VSD systems with a capacity of 20 megawatts and 3 VSD systems with 15 MW each. The scope of the order includes all ancillaries as cooling systems, control systems and filter equipment. This is already the second order for VSD systems of this type Siemens has received from China Petroleum Material and Equipment Corporation. He said “Our excellent performance at the first project and the great support from our regional staff in Beijing has laid the foundation for this follow up order from CPTDC.”

Mr Frank Stieler said due to the rising demand for natural gas the market for new oil & gas pipelines is growing worldwide at a rapid pace. In a recent study, Douglas Westwood projected that USD180 billion will be spent on onshore pipeline projects worldwide through to 2012. The majority of the expenditures are expected to be invested in new natural gas pipelines, especially in Asia. He said that “We anticipate massive investments in large pipeline projects in China. Siemens Oil & Gas has the most diverse portfolio for the midstream oil & gas markets and we can perfectly serve our customer’s needs in China and worldwide. Siemens can offer highly efficient products and solutions from power to compression and pumping out of hand.”

New steel mills in China to be located in coastal areas

Chinamining.org cited Mr Luo Bingsheng vice chairman of China Iron & Steel Association as saying that China's new iron and steel enterprises in the future should mainly be erected in coastal areas as the production capacity in hinterland areas is excessive while that of coastal areas is comparatively small

Mr Luo said China has already begun to pay importance to the strategy of optimizing the distribution of its iron and steel industry. He added that this is also to conveniently and economically import iron ores and fuels and ship products, adding it is also an international trend.

Most of the major steel works currently under construction are located in coastal areas. Among them are
1. Bayuquan project of Anshan Steel
2. Caofeidian project of Shougang
3. Fangchenggang project of Wuhan Steel
4. Zhanjiang project of Baosteel.

Chinese utilities starting to feel coal cost pressures

China Daily reported that rise in coal prices will result in an additional CNY 29.9 billion in Chinese power companies' fuel costs.

Mr Zou Yiqiao director general of the department of tariffs and financial regulation under the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said Coal prices for power generation have risen by an average 10% this year which will put power companies under big pressure.

Mr Zou said the country's five major power generating groups have signed less than 50% of the term contracts with coal suppliers they need for this year. He said in order to ensure fuel supply, Chinese power companies can buy coal and transport assets to expand their business. He added that "Chinese power groups may buy stakes in the county's coal producers and transport companies to ensure coal supply and to offset rising costs."

Mr Zou said the nation should use the coal power price linkage mechanism at the appropriate time to reduce the cost pressure on power companies."

China revises 2007 GDP growth upward to 11.9%

According to National Bureau of Statistics on a released said that an upward revision of 2007 gross domestic product that showed growth of 11.9%, or 0.5 point more than the initial estimate. It said the revision followed the routine preliminary verification of the available statistical data.

A statement from the agency said that last year's GDP was CNY 291.1 billion larger than originally estimated, which meant that GDP was CNY 24.953 trillion last year.

The agency said this is the second step in the agency's annual GDP reporting process. Under regulations issued in 2003, there are three stages: preliminary accounting, preliminary verification and finalization.

The NBS also released its final figures for 2006 GDP, based on annual statistical reports and financial statements. The agency put the figure at CNY 21.1923 trillion up by 105.2 billion. That would equate to a GDP rise of 11.6% from 2005 or 0.5 point more than earlier figures.

2007 – 11.9% (Preliminary verification based)
2006 – 11.6 % (Final)

Chinese utilities called to invest in coal mining

It is reported that under the pressure of continuous coal price hikes, power generation enterprises in China are widely expecting the government to raise electricity price through the power coal price pegging mechanism. However, industry insiders say electricity price hike is unlikely in the near future considering the great inflation pressures in the country at present.

In a recent research report involving the participation of some important government departments suggests that power producers should be encouraged to invest in coal mines through mergers and acquisitions, which as observers predict may be an advisable choice and inevitable trend for power producers to achieve satisfactory profit margins and fend off the pressures of coal price rises.

Official statistics show that largely due to coal price hikes, the total profit of China's electric power industry dived by 55.85% to CNY 9.541 billion in the first two months of this year from CNY 21.