July, 31 2005
SAIL betting on firm price
According to a senior company official, after a global and local depression on the product price front in the past couple of months, steel industry is now not only witnessing a price stabilisation, but sensing early signals of firming up also as international inventories have been shrinking steadily.
HRC prices have of late been inching up, according to industry insiders, after recording a fall of over $100 a tonne. "Experts predict that from September onwards steel prices may confirm a clear upward trend," the official mentioned.
Chances of further price fall in the domestic market also appear slim, even during the monsoon, when demand is historically soft. "The domestic inventory is not great and construction activity is not off in many parts of the country because of scanty rain," an industry source observed.
Steel import is also unlikely to go up in view of the prevailing 5 per cent customs duty maintaining parity with international prices, experts feel.
Coal Ministry revives SA's Sasol coal to oil conversion plan
With international crude oil prices touching $60 per barrel, the Government has pulled out an old report on converting coal into synthetic oil. The report was submitted to the Coal Ministry after an official delegation's visit to Sasol Mining Company in South Africa, which converts coal into crude oil.
"The Minister of State for Coal, Mr Dasari Narayan Rao, has directed the department to immediately conduct a feasibility study on introduction of the concept and technology for converting coal into synthetic oil in the country in the context of prevalent high oil prices and the recent interest shown by the private sector in this technology," Ministry officials told
The Coal Ministry had sent an eight-member expert team to Sasol in 2000. The team, in its report submitted in early 2001, recommended setting up of a task force of experts to look into the feasibility of converting coal into oil and also to initiate a dialogue with Sasol for technical help. The task force was never formed.
Around the same time, Coal India Ltd (CIL) was also asked to float a global tender seeking Expressions of Interest for such technological conversion. Apart from Sasol, only Petronet of Malaysia has this technology though it does not have an operational plant as of now. However, there was no response to the CIL tender and eventually it was put on the back burner.
"The Sasol technology is three-phased. First, solid coal is converted into a gaseous form and then combined with hydrogen. After this, it is liquefied to get what is called synthetic oil, which is then refined. The final product is synthetic petrol and its fuelling capacity is as good as natural oil."
High ash containing coal, which is also abundantly available in India, is converted into synthetic oil by Sasol. According to estimates submitted by the expert team, at the Sasol facility one tonne of coal gets converted into 230 litres of by-products. Out of this, 160 litres are crude oil, which is then sent to the refinery, and the remaining 70 litres contain tar, pitch and other rare chemicals.
"Now it seems a number of private parties are interested in this technology and as per reports these private companies are interested only up to the gasification process," Ministry officials added.
BJD-BJP to meet for Posco issue
With the monsoon session of the Orissa assembly just three days away, the BJD and BJP, partners in the coalition government, will meet at a meeting of their coordination committee on Saturday to discuss several contentious issues including the controversial Posco project. The meeting is expected to be attended by senior leaders of both parties.
BJP legislature party Leader and Industries Minister Biswabhushan Harichandan said the meeting was necessary to clear doubts about the Posco project before the session began.
The controversy over the Korean mega project, promising a FDI of Rs 51,000 crore in the state, had reached a crescendo when BJP state Chief Jual Oram had sent a four-page letter raising several questions on the mou signed with the company on June 22 last. Oram had accused the Chief Minister of 'overlooking' the interests of the state while alleging that he was being 'misguided' by a handful of bureaucrats. He also objected to the government decision to provide a mining lease to the Korean company.
There have been differences within the BJD on the issue as well with former Union steel minister and leader of BJD in Lok Sabha Braja Kishore Tripathy openly objecting to the Korean proposal.
Jindal hopeful of steel plant in WB
JSW group, which proposed to set up a five million tonne steel in West Bengal at an expenditure of Rs 10,000 crore, has expressed hope that the iron ore linkage from Jharkhand for the project would be tied up in six months time.
"We are hopeful that the supply of iron ore for the proposed steel plant will be tied up in another six months," company vice-chairman Sajjan Jindal told reporters after discussing the issue with Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee.
He said the Jharkhand government had softened its stand on supply of iron ore to their project in West Bengal. The secretary-level talks between the two states on this issue were on, he said.
Simplex Concrete Piles feels Boom in power and roads to continue
Mr Moondra feels upbeat about the infrastructure growth in the country. The recent boom in power and roads is likely to continue for the next few years.
Increased government emphasis on PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) model to improve urban infrastructure, increased ports being opened for private sector and establishment of SPV's to boost the core sector throws huge opportunities to capitalise upon.
Simplex is India's leading infrastructure and engineering house with experience for building projects worth Rs. 10,000 crore in more than 100 power plants, 15 steel plants, 24 petrochemical and chemical plants and 100 flyovers and bridges in India.
Currently their order book stands at Rs.3,800 crore with orders from EPC project of Nagarjuna Thermal power plant, Vedanta Aluminum project, Gateway Terminal at JNPT, Jindal Power Ltd, a project on the Golden Quadrilateral and construction of a few steel plants.
Simplex has established offices in Dubai (UAE), Manama (Bahrain) and Doha (Qatar). Apart from these countries, they have presence in Abu Dabhi, Oman, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. They are also looking at South East Asian countries and CIS countries to explore opportunities.
China's steel production this year to exceed 300 million tons
China this year is expected to produce more than 300 million tons of crude steel, said Luo Binsheng, vice president of the China Iron and Steel Association on Friday.
Last year the steel production of China, the largest steel producer in the world, was 272 million tons.
In the first half of this year, China produced 164.86 million tons of crude steel, up 28.25 percent year on year, according to figures from the China Iron and Steel Association.
This year, steel prices in the domestic market rose at first and later dropped. With the rapid growth of steel production, an oversupply problem has started to emerge, but the country still runs short of those steel products with high added value and high-technology levels, said Luo.
Highveld steel workers to resume work on Monday
Trade union Solidarity says all striking workers will be back at work on Monday, after accepting Highveld Steel management's wage increase offer.
Twenty-four thousand artisans in the metal and engineering industry yesterday accepted a 6% wage offer from Highveld Steel.
Dirk Hermann, the Solidarity spokesperson, says they are already back at work. However, about 2 000 Solidarity and Numsa workers who striked at Highveld Steel in Witbank have agreed to resume their duties on Monday.
China's net export of steel 2.29 million tons in H1
China's net export of steel products totaled 2.29 million tons in the first half of this year, said Vice President Luo Binsheng of the China Iron and Steel Association here on Friday at a press conference. This shows China has turned from a steel net importer into a net exporter of steel products, said Luo. In the first half of this year, China's steel imports continued decreasing while steel exports kept rising, he said. Although China's steel exports increase while imports drop, the pricing and technological gap between export and import steel products still exists, said
During the period, China imported 13.22 million tons of rolled steel, decreasing 26.84 percent year on year, and 773,800 tons of steel billets, down 75.74 percent, figures from the China Iron and Steel Association show.
Meanwhile, China exported 11.57 million tons of rolled steel, up 154 percent year on year, and 4.8 million tons of steel billets, up 261 percent, according to the association.
China's investment in iron & steel restrained
China's blind investment in the iron and steel sector has been restrained, with the investment in the industry amounting to 97.4 billion yuan (about 12 billion US dollars) in the first six months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 18. 6 percent, or 33 percentage points lower than the same period of last year.
Beijing-based China Securities Journal reported on Friday that the growth of the country's steel consumption, which stood at 20 percent each year over the past three years, dropped to 15.7 percent in the January-June period.
Quoting a report on the sector's performance released by the State Development and Reform Commission on Thursday, the paper said iron and steel production, however, is increasing on a monthly basis, with steel output reaching 173.12 million tons.
China's iron and steel sector is currently facing the problem of overproduction on the one hand, and decreasing consumption on the other hand due to the central government's macro-regulation and control policy.
Experts warn that the dramatic ups and downs of the steel price is not good to the healthy development of the industry.
1430MT Box Steel Beam lifted and erected at Sea Bridge in China
The 1,430-ton box beam lifted by LGB1600 bridge erection equipment, July 28, 2005. On July 28, the constructors succeeded in laying of the first box beam for the sea-cross bridge at Hangzhou Bay in east China's Zhejiang Province on July 28, 2005.
The box beam is 50 meters in length and 1, 430 tons in weight. The bridge, 36 kilometers long, has 10.48 kilometers in beach areas, accounting for 29.1 percent of the total length.
The commanding office of the project conquered the world-class difficulty in beam-laying at beach and created a record in the world's bridge construction history for "laying beam on beam" of largest weight
1430MT Box Steel Beam lifted and erected at Sea Bridge in China
The 1,430-ton box beam lifted by LGB1600 bridge erection equipment, July 28, 2005. On July 28, the constructors succeeded in laying of the first box beam for the sea-cross bridge at Hangzhou Bay in east China's Zhejiang Province on July 28, 2005.
The box beam is 50 meters in length and 1, 430 tons in weight. The bridge, 36 kilometers long, has 10.48 kilometers in beach areas, accounting for 29.1 percent of the total length.
The commanding office of the project conquered the world-class difficulty in beam-laying at beach and created a record in the world's bridge construction history for "laying beam on beam" of largest weight
Mercer County fights Chinese steel
Chinese tube and pipe imports are hurting Mercer County, and county commissioners added their voices Thursday to the chorus of those trying to help local manufacturers.
Mercer County has three tube and pipe operations: Wheatland Tube in Wheatland; the former Sawhill Tubular Division, Wheatland, which was bought by Wheatland Tube in 2002; and Sharon Tube Co., Sharon.
Commissioners passed a resolution at their meeting Thursday asking the president and Congress to utilize all available trade remedy laws to prevent dumping of steel pipes, tubes and fittings on U.S. markets.
They stated in their resolution that pipe and tube imports from China have increased from 9,800 tons to 267,000 tons from 2002 to 2004, and that the American steel tube, pipe and fitting industry could collapse without immediate action.
China Steel looking into foreign mines
China Steel Corp the nation's largest steelmaker, is considering investing in iron and coal mines overseas to help secure sources of raw materials. "We don't exclude any chances to invest in mines," Chen Yuan-cheng, China Steel executive vice president, said yesterday. Many mining companies, including one from the Philippines, have approached China Steel, he said, without giving any names. The mines China Steel has opportunities to invest in are "either new ones or those that have yet to start," Chen said. "We have to be careful" in studying the projects.
A Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday that China Steel is considering investing US$1 billion in a Philippine mining project to supply ore for steelmaking. Chen said any possible investment is still at a "very, very early stage."
Demand from China, which buys between 8 percent and 10 percent of Kaohsiung-based China Steel's products, has helped drive prices of iron ore and coal to records, increasing costs for the Taiwanese steelmaker and competitors such as Japan's Nippon Steel Corp.
21 Chinese Steel Companies in Top 100 Companies in China
To help investors gain a better understanding of the corporate sector in China, Standard & Poor's has conducted a statistical survey of the Top 100 listed corporations in the country and released ranking based on annual sales in million Yuan. 21 steel companies have made to this list
7 Minmetals Development 64,593
8 Baoshan Iron & Steel 58,638
19 Maanshan Iron & Steel 26,770
22 Wuhan Iron & Steel 24,148
24 Hunan Valin Steel Tube & Wire 23,786
25 Angang New Steel 23,228
27 Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel 22,410
29 Tangshan Iron & Steel 21,884
31 Beijing Shougang 21,074
33 Handan Iron & Steel 19,453
35 Jinan Iron & Steel 19,147
40 Laiwu Steel 17,762
41 Bengang Steel Plates 17,349
42 Inner Mongolia BaoTou Steel 16,246
51 Panzhihua New Steel & Vanadium 13,439
55 AnYang Iron & Steel 12,918
68 Nanjing Iron & Steel 10,226
70 Guangzhou Iron & Steel 10,100
73 Hangzhou Iron & Steel 9,955
81 Gan Su Jiu Steel Group Hong Xing Iron & Steel 8,965
82 Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes 8,801
