According to a report in FE, TATA Steel is planning to double its borrowing capacity from INR 20,000 crore to INR 40,000 crore to meet its project costs, which include 3 of its planned Greenfield projects, global raw material projects and other capital expenditure programs.

As per report, TATA Steel will seek its shareholders' consent at the annual general meeting to be held in Mumbai on August 28th to enable its directors to borrow money up to INR 40,000 crore.

According to the report, TATA Steel shareholders had given their consent to the board to borrow up to INR 20,000 crore at the AGM held on July 5th 2006. The board of a company cannot except with the consent of its shareholders, borrow money, apart from obtaining temporary loans from its bankers in the ordinary course of business.

Such temporary loans too have to be within the aggregate of the company's paid up capital and free reserves available, ie reserves not set apart for any specific purpose like debenture redemption reserve etc.

As per report, the borrowings of TATA Steel stood at INR 18,000 crore on March 31st 2008.

Indian domestic steel prices continued their down slide last week. But long products were severely affected, which is reflected in 197 point fall in LPPI during the period. But fall in flat products was some what lesser. Overall, the Indian Steel Price Index fell by 115 points.

LPPI – Long Product Price Index
FPPI – Flat Product Price Index
ISPI – Indian Steel Price Index

Long products

Flat products

Input materials

Mumbai

Price in INR per tonne
Including ED and VAT
Delivery FOT

To read the full update, please visit www.steelprices-india.com

PTI reported that ArcelorMittal has initiated land acquisition for its 12 million tonnes per annum steel plant in Orissa with the people of 2 villages of Keonjhar district okaying their project.

Mr Vijay Bhatnagar CEO of ArcelorMittal India said that "The gram sabhas at the 2 villages went off well peacefully and people signed the resolution supporting the project."

He said that the first gram sabha at Bhrungarajposi village concluded with the signing of the resolution by the residents supporting the INR 40,000 crore projects. He added that amid the presence of district authorities, the villagers showed willingness to move ahead with the process while bringing some concerns to the forefront.

Mr Bhatnagar said that the gram sabha was in general peaceful, although there were some protests in the vicinity. In the gram sabha conducted at Raikala, the villagers raised several questions, submitted a charter of demands and sought more clarification before signing the resolution supporting the project.

He said that "We have noted the villagers' concerns and would make all efforts to address the same. The entire process was aimed at ensuring transparency."

PTI reported that TATA Steel Group might dispose of some of the low profit yielding assets of Corus to increase the return on invested capital in 5 years.

The report cited Mr Jean Sebastien Jacques group director strategy of TATA Steel as saying that the TATA Steel Group has set itself an ambitious target to improve the return on invested capital of its existing assets to 30% from the current 19% over the next 5 years.

Mr Jacques said that "The Group will pursue the optimization of its European assets, dispose and restructure assets that are of low profitability and pursue differentiation of products and services. It will also continue towards achieving benefits through continuous improvement of processes and products through synergies from the acquisition of Corus.”

Mr Kaushik Chatterjee CFO of TATA Steel said that the incremental RoIC would be generated from better margins from the existing assets through performance improvement programs that are currently underway, sweating of the existing capital employed in the business and efficient asset deployment in the new growth projects across the group.

One can have an idea about the importance of the construction industry in India from the fact that it is the second largest contributor to the GDP after agriculture. The industry provides employment to more than 3% of the population. Its market size is around USD 55 billion and is growing at around 7% to 8% per annually, faster than the GDP growth. As the Construction sector is growing faster than the country’s project GDP growth, there exist a tremendous potential for development in the related area.

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BL reported that Shipping Corporation of India will soon sign an agreement with South Korean shipyard STX to acquire 4 Panamax bulk carriers for USD 238.2 million. The deliveries of all 4 vessels are expected in about 2012.

As per report, the public sector unit recently received the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs nod for acquiring 4 Panamax bulk carriers of about 80,000 DWT each at a price of USD 59.55 million.

SCI currently has 28 vessels on order, deliveries of which will start this year and are expected to be complete over the next few years. As per report the vessels on order include
1. Two very large crude oil carriers of 319,000 DWT from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering
2. Six LR-I product tankers of 73,000 DWT from STX Shipbuilding
3. Two 4,400 TEU cellular container vessels from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries
4. Two MR product tankers of 47,000 DWT from China’s Jinling Shipyard
5. Four Aframax crude oil tankers of 115,000 DWT capacity from Hyundai Heavy Industries
6. TWO LR-II product tankers of 105,000 DWT from Hundai Heavy Industries
5. Four anchor handling, towing and supply vessels from Bharati Shipyard
6. Six Handymax bulk carriers of 57,400 DWT capacity from STX Shipbuilding.

BL reported that East Coast Energy has sewn up plans to establish a 4,000 MW capacity mega power plant along with a dedicated jetty to evacuate coal near Bhavanapadu in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.

The phase I of the project contemplates the setting up of 2,640 MW capacity with an investment of INR 10,000 crore within 39 to 42 months. It envisages four units of 640 MW based on supercritical technology.

Mr T Shankaralingam chairman of East Coast Energy said that “The project is awaiting environmental clearance. Thereafter, we expect to take the project up for financial closure. Unlike in the past, if all clearances are in place, it can be achieved in couple of months.”

He said that “The project to be located on the site belonging to Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation is looking at firing it with imported coal and has tied up with Global Fuels Pte, Singapore. It is also in talks for supply of coal from Mahanadi Coal Fields. The idea to have linkage from imported coal mines and suppliers and domestic coal, is to potentially use blended coal and thereby optimize the power generation cost.”

Mr Shankaralingam said that “The company will take up development of about 2,500 acres for the project of the 3,500 acres of land and have a debt equity ratio of about 80:20. We will engage in talks with a consortium of banks lead by IDBI.”

As per the report, East Coast Energy is a special purpose vehicle of Asian Infra, Singapore and Athena Energy Ventures comprising IDFC, PTC and other strategic investors.

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BL reported that Adani Power Limited has signed a power purchase agreement with the Haryana Government for supplying of 1,424 MW of power for 25 years from its plant to be generated at Mundra in Gujarat for 25 years.

As per report, the bid was awarded to Adani Power Limited based on a competitive tariff bidding process which had taken place a few months ago. The liveliest tariff under the agreement is INR 2.94 per unit. The power will be supplied to the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited from Adani Power's Mundra power generation facility.

Adani Power Limited said that an important feature of this the project includes a is more than 1,000 kilometer long dedicated HVDC transmission system which Adani Power Limited plans is planning to construct for supplying power from Mundra to Haryana. This system will virtually bring the generating power plant located at Mundra to Haryana.

Mr Gautam Adani chairman of the Adani Group said that “The company will make efforts to complete the project on schedule and ensure that power is made available to Haryana well in time.”

Adani Power had already signed PPAs with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited for supplying of 2,000 MW of power produced from the Mundra power project. It has also received Lo for supplying 1,320 MW from its Tiroda plant in Maharashtra, which is under construction to Mahavitran in Maharashtra. Adani Power has so far tied up 4,744 MW of power supply.

The further added that the company has 6 coal fired thermal power projects under various stages of development or planning with a combined power generation capacity of 9,900 MW at a cost of over INR 43,000 crore. It intends to sell power under a combination of long term PPAs to industrial and State owned consumers as well as on merchant basis.

Reuters reported that utility Reliance Power Limited is planning to increase as much as USD 2.5 billion through India's largest rupee denominated loan this year to fund a power project.

The report said that Reliance Power, part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has hired SBI Capital Markets a unit of State Bank of India to increase the funds for its 3,960 MW coal fired plant at Sasan in central Madhya Pradesh state.

One banker involved in the deal said that "The loan is open and we are hopeful of closing it in early October." But he declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

They said that the loan priced at 11.75% will be for a tenure of 15 years.

It is reported that Thermax Limited has developed the first of its kind boiler to convert highly polluting distillery waste and spent wash into usable energy and the boiler has been installed at a leading distillery in Karnataka.

As per the report, spent wash is a brown liquid waste that is generated as a by product during the distillation of fermented molasses. A typical distillery generates 6 t liters o 15 liters of spent wash per liter of alcohol. Spent wash is highly acidic with a very offensive odor and it is a major source of ground water pollution. A typical distillery generates about 1000 tonnes of spent wash everyday.

The boilers designed by Thermax convert this spent wash waste into usable energy steam and power. An evaporator concentrates this 1000 tonnes waste to around 200 tonnes before it's fed into the boiler. Steam from the boiler will be used in the distillery process and while co generating 2 MW of power which will replace the distillery's requirement from the power grid.

Mr M S Unnikrishnan MD of Thermax Limited said that ''The alcohol business is highly competitive in India and overseas. This technology will enable Thermax to improve the competitive edge of its clients by improving productivity and reducing production costs. This will also mitigate pollution, which is a major issue with distilleries.''

By generating steam from spent wash, molasses based distilleries can significantly reduce their energy costs. Every kilogram of concentrated spent wash replaces nearly 0.33 kilogram of Indian coal. Thermax will install similar boilers at three other distilleries in the country.

BL reported that the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited proposes to enter the capital market with an IPO to increase around INR 1,500 crore. This will be the first of the 3 State government power companies going for a public issue.

Mr Subrat Ratho MD of MahaTransco said that “The company would soon seek the government approval for the IPO. Once the Government clearance is in hand, the company would go ahead with formalities including appointment of merchant bankers. A decision on the size and the timing of the IPO is yet to be taken.”

The reported said that the plan is to increase around INR 1,500 crore through an equity issue latest by the Q1 of next fiscal. MahaTransco was created by unbundling the Maharashtra State Electricity Board on June 5th 2005.

Mr Ratho said that the company has a capital expenditure plan of about INR 20,000 crore for next 5 years. The report added that several new power plants including the ultra mega ones coming up in the state, the company sees good business potential. MahaTransco has been toying with the idea for tapping the equity market for sometime now. But it did not go ahead as the market conditions changed in the last 6 months.

The Status of the Sardar Sarovar Project for the quarter ended on June 30th 2008 are as follows:

1. Main Dam
(I) The height of the dam spillway has been raised to 121.92 million tonnes.
(II) 6.576 million cubic meter concrete has been placed against the total quantity of 68.20 LCM which is about 96.43%.
(III) Construction of Irrigation Bye Pass Tunnel is almost completed.
(IV) Preconstruction activities of Garudeshwar weir has been taken up.

2. Hydro Power House
All 5 units of Canal Head Power House and all 6 units of River Bed Power House are commissioned

3. Canal Systems
A. Narmada Main Canal - Work of NMC from ch 0 to 458 kilometer is completed except three Canal Syphone viz. Saraswati, Khari-II and Banas. Work of these Canal Syphon is in progress. Water is flown in Canal up to 458 kilometer ie Rajasthan Border.
B. Branch Canals - Work of all the 22 Branch Canals offtaking from NMC Ch 0 to 263 kilometer is completed.
C. Saurashtra Branch Canal and its Sub Branches - Work of 90 km of Ssurashtra Branch Canal is completed and work in the remaining reach is in progress. Work of 3 sub branch is completed and work of 4 sub branch is in progress. Out of five Pumping Stations on SBC- PS.1 has commenced and the work of remaining Four Pumping stations is in Progress.
D. Branch Canals offtaking from NMC Ch 263 to 458 kilometer - Civil work of Viramgam-I, Viramgam-II and Kharaghoda and Zinzuwada branch canals are completed and installation erection of gates is under progress. Work of Goraiya, Bolera, Rajpure, Amarapura and Radhanpur is in progress.
E. Kachchh Branch Canal - Work of 25 km length of Kachchh branch canal is completed and work in further 51 km. is in progress. Detailed project report for three Power stations are under preparation. Tenders for three pumping stations are invited.

4. Distribution System
Work of distribution system in reach 0 to 312 kilometer of NMC (except command area of SBC) is in full swing.

5. Command Area Development
Work of Command Area Development in 485,995 hectare is in full swing. Out of this works in 300,083 hectare has been completed.

The height of Main dam will be raised from time to time subject to necessary clearance. Canals and other works will be completed in phases. It is expected that the entire project will be completed by 2009-10.

It is reported that the US domestic wire rod market is seeing a correction and the price may begin to slide, although domestic mills are increasing their prices for August 2008. A combination of dropping import offers and weak demand for scrap are the main reason.

Current wire rod prices quoted by domestic mills are prevailing at USD 1,235 per ton to USD 1,257 per ton and USD 1,290 per ton to USD 1,312 per ton for high carbon wire rod.

Some mills in South Korea and Malaysia are showing greater interest in the US market, as they are trying to offset weak markets at home, said a trader. Their prices are not attractive now, but it is expected that they will be offering more competitive prices soon.

US wire rod imports totaled 75,546 tons in July 2008 as compared to 138,325 tons in the corresponding month of last year.

It is reported that Nucor Corporation is planning to build a 500 employee iron plant in Convent and wants to break ground in January 2008, as long as Louisiana grants the necessary environmental permits and the Legislature backs an incentives package crafted by the administration of Governor Mr Bobby Jindal.

Mr Dan DiMicco CEO of Nucor said that preferring a site on the east bank of the Mississippi River in St James Parish instead of a location in Brazil, the major steel producer is satisfied with the labor and business outlook in Louisiana as well as Mr Jindal's offer of financial and worker training assistance. He added that "The ball is truly in Louisiana's court. The shovels are in the closet and ready to go."

Mr DiMicco said he wants to go to his board in early December 2008 with the news that Louisiana supports the incentive package and that the permits are ready. The permitting process will require public hearings. Details of the incentive package are not yet public.

Nucor's USD 2 billion plant would represent one of the largest Greenfield manufacturing investments in Louisiana history. Its local supplier base and future planned expansions would add to its impact. Although the steel industry is not new to the state, Nucor's huge facility would create a major new industrial leg supporting the local economy.

It is reported that, with the entry into the commercial register of the Duisburg Municipal Court, the transformation of Klöckner & Co Aktiengesellschaft into a European Company (Societas Europaea) was concluded.

Thus, as of August 8th 2008, the company is known as Klöckner & Co SE.

Dr Thomas Ludwig chairman of management board of Klöckner & Co SE said that "The legal form of the SE is an expression of a modern, entrepreneurially spirited Europe. For an international company like Klöckner & Co, it represents a significant step in the company’s history.”

The two tier system of supervisory board and management board will remain in effect as well. The members of the AG’s management board and the AG’s supervisory board, which will continue to have no employee representatives, will also be members of the corresponding boards in the SE. The elections for the new SE works council, which will consist of up to 21 members from 14 EU countries, will be held soon. No other changes will be made within the group as a result of the conversion.

With the conclusion of the transformation process, the shareholders of Klöckner & Co AG have automatically become shareholders of Klöckner & Co SE. The shares of Klöckner & Co SE will continue to be listed on the stock markets where Klöckner & Co AG shares were traded.

Malaysian Iron & Steel Industry Federation said that there is no shortage in the supply of steel bars to the local construction industry. It added that the supply trend is consistent in the local market whereby installed capacity from all mills for steel bars is recorded at 3.5 million tonnes and capacity utilization as at 2007 was only at 56% for steel bar rolling.

MISIF said that although there have been allegations of shortages in the supply of steel bars, steel millers various requests for quantities of requirements for the various projects have not been forthcoming and unless steel suppliers have forecasts of customer requirements, manufacturers are forced to make alternative business plans.

It added that "Generally, steel prices are dictated by iron ore prices negotiated between the 3 major world ore suppliers with major users whereby in February 2008, top steel makers in Asia had agreed to pay 65% more for iron ore, setting a global benchmark for raw material prices. With this increase, prices of raw materials have more or less quadrupled within the space of 5 years."

In Malaysia, steel mills import more than 3 million tonnes of scrap annually and the price of which has swung from USD 350 per tonne in June 2007 to USD 725 per tonne in June 2008. Also, recent announcements of petrol, fuel, gas and electricity costs have further increased production costs for steel makers.

Hence, as steel producers, MISIF members also cannot provide long term commitments on prices of steel products since the raw materials fluctuate ever so often.

According to MISIF, the steel mills group, comprising Amsteel, Masteel, Ann Joo Steel, Perwaja, Kinsteel and Southern Steel and several other steel bar makers are confronted with the same challenges and the issues raised by the building industry recently have been viewed with concern.

The new report on Indian steel from Steel and Natural Resources Research authored by Dr AS Firoz, Strategy Consultant, comes out with findings completely different from the popular growth stories told about the short and mid term potential of steel demand growth in the country. The report, yet to be officially released, blames much of it to the uncertainty in the policy regime and deep structural weakness in the economy.

The report says India may see a drop in steel demand in the coming two years. The annual growth rates in finished steel consumption are likely to be 5.5% in 2008-09 and about 4.5% in 2009-10. This is in sharp contrast to the forecasts made earlier when growth rates were expected in the range of 9% to 12% for these two years. Demand growth for stainless and alloy steel also will remain far below potential. The study has predicted significant change in the structure of the market in the next 10 years from the earlier forecast scenarios with changes in the growth trends for specific products.

The report further goes on to project a rather pessimistic scenario in respect of production growth as new projects start ups have been significantly delayed. While the Brownfield expansion projects of the private companies and RINL are on course, SAIL, the study finds, is way behind the schedule.

The new supply and demand conditions in the market will leave their expected impact on the external trade. Imports will remain far above exports this year, but, the situation will start changing from 2009-10. Exports of steel, especially flat products, will sharply rise to turn the country into a net exporter of steel once again.

The study forecasts prices of steel to come under pressure with weakening of demand and not so much due to government actions. With rising costs of coking coal, the integrated mills will see their margins eroding. Higher costs of other inputs such as iron ore, non-coking coal and ferroalloys will hit the secondary sector hard.

The steel companies will also find it hard to mobilize resources for their new projects, the report concludes.

To know more about it, please send a mail to reports@steelguru.com

It is reported that Salzgitter AG has acquired 5% stake of Norddeutsche Affinerie AG from the Hamburger Gesellschaft für Vermögens und Beteiligungsmanagement GmbH being the holding company for shareholdings of the city of Hamburg.

With this step Salzgitter has increased its shareholding in Norddeutsche Affinerie to 10.8%.

It creates advantageous preconditions to conduct the upcoming investigations of medium to long term opportunities for cooperation in a confident manner.

Bloomberg reported that Malaysia Smelting Corporation is planning to sell new stock to shareholders to help fund the purchase of Asiatic Coal Pte Limited and raise working capital. Smelting will offer shareholders three new shares for every two held in a rights offer that may raise as much as MYR 337.5 million based on an illustrative price of MYR 1.50 a share.

Malaysia Smelting will also give shareholders one new share for every one held before the rights offering.

Providing customer reassurance that high performance corrosion resistant steel will meet a given set of criteria is the purpose of a new ASTM International standard recently approved by committee A01 on steel, stainless steel and related alloys.

The new standard, ASTM A1055, specification for zinc and epoxy dual coated steel reinforcing bars, is under the jurisdiction of subcommittee A01.05 on steel reinforcement.

Mr Andrew Marquardt product manager at Gerdau Ameristeel and also a member of the task group that developed the new standard said that "A1055 allows customers a level of comfort that they can credibly specify a dual coated reinforcing steel bar product and be assured that they are receiving what they have specified."

He added that ASTM A1055 will most benefit state departments of transportation that require high-performance corrosion protection of reinforcing steel bars in coastal environments, as well as departments of transportation that use deicing salts on roads, bridges, and decks, and that it also will meet the needs of design engineers specifying steel product for buildings along a coast, wastewater treatment plants, and facilities that use harsh chemicals.

A steel user, however big or small, is always concerned about steel buying as it is normally a big ticket item, but there is no bench mark available to steel buyers to compare their transaction prices, which in a big way decided their bottom line. Lastly, steel has been very volatile in last 6 months and has effected many users in a very severe way making it all the more important to track the prices and trends.

www.steelprices-india.com is a new portal that provides domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in China on a regular basis 5 days a week. In addition, FOB levels for commonly exported steel products from two of the major exporting nation Ukraine & Russia and China are also available on daily basis to give a sense of alternates.

This would assist persons, including steel makers, traders, users and others, who are connected with industry in some way to asses the steel pricing trends and utilize in their day to day working to take considered decisions.

Benchmark products at select locations cover the entire basket of garden variety of steel products including input material for steel making and processing.

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Platts reported that minor metals have not been spared the fallout from the unfolding crisis that is besieging the ailing US automotive industry, as well as the general US economic slowdown.

According to traders, while platinum has been the latest metal to grab the headlines in terms of suffering at the hands of the automotive sector, some minor metals are all feeling the fallout.

Indium prices have eased under the USD 500 per kilogram mark, having been falling steadily over the last 2 months. The Platts New York Dealer indium prices eased to USD 490 to USD 570 per kilogram on August 7th 2008 from USD 500 USD 580 a week earlier.

Meanwhile, traders also noted that bismuth, which is used in car windshields to prevent shattering and can be seen as the visible black, dotted edges, is seeing demand in that application adversely affected by the slump in US auto sales. While bismuth is also finding a growing market in solders as a lead replacement, along with tin, the drop in automotive demand is being felt.

It is reported that Japan's ferrous scrap export market continues quiet as new deals are at a virtual standstill after South Korea's Hyundai Steel Company has stopped its purchases as a main buyer of Japanese ferrous scrap.

Besides, South Korea's other electric steelmakers show little interest in taking Japanese ferrous scrap as in the cases of Taiwan's various electric steelmakers. In South Korea, meanwhile, unloading operations are stalled at Pohang, while Inchon and Pyongtaek are caught in serious shipping congestion.

In South Korea, ferrous scrap consumption by electric steelmakers as a whole is falling in times of periodic equipment repairs at their works. At present, the electric steelmakers enjoy favorable arrivals of locally available ferrous scrap at their works at a time when the domestic ferrous scrap market is trending downward. As a result, they are quoted as saying that they can practically do without import ferrous scrap so far.

For its part, POSCO Specialty Steel Co held its tender July 30th 2008 to purchase P&S scrap and new production scrap. The tender is said to have brought a spate of offers from Japan. Results of the tender, though, have yet to become clear.

In supplies of containerized ferrous scrap from the USA, transaction prices have already fallen to less than US$600/MT C&F Taiwan for a mix of 80% No1 HMS/20% No2 HMS. Of late, the mix is said to have sold at around USD 590 per tonne CNF Japan.

By comparison, what metal merchants charge for deep sea ferrous scrap cargoes in bulk have declined until now to a level of USD 640 to USD 650 per tonne CNF East Asia for No1 HMS.

Platts reported that summer shutdowns continued to put a freeze on zinc premiums for another week, with price assessment for special high grade zinc unmoved at 4 cents plus LME cash and the price for alloy number 3 immobile at 17 cents plus LME cash.

The report cited a trader as saying that "The market is still mired in summer. We continue to see very little interest on the buy side in zinc."

He said that "Zinc is probably trading lower than it should, based on the price of other metals," the trader said. "Close to 20%-30% of world production is at cash cost. However, mine shutdowns that will set the stage for a price comeback are starting to happen and Chinese demand might go up after the Olympics."

With scant deals on either material keeping premiums static for now, the focus has turned to the beleaguered zinc LME price that seems in perpetual freefall.

Chilean steel and iron ore producer CAP has posted net profit of CLF 160.1 million in January to June 2008 period up by 8.6% YoY as against CLF 147.3 million in January to June 2007 period.

Details of financial results in January to June 2008 period are as follows

In CLF million

It is reported that Japanese H beam exports totaled 21,741 tonnes in June 2008 and the export average price was USS 1,064 per tonne. Exports of H beam reached 237,060 tonnes from January to June 2008 period and the export average price was USD 817 per tonne.

In June 2008, America was the main export destination at 2,184 tonnes and the export average price was USD 1,206 per tonne. Taiwan imported 2,789 tonnes of H beam from Japan and the export average price was USD 978 per tonne. Shipments to China totaled 1,731 tonnes and the export average price was USD 1,159 per tonne.

Japan’s export volume of refined zinc in June 2008 escalated by 12.3% YoY to 7,544 tonnes as compared with that of the corresponding period of last year.

Japan’s zinc was mainly exported to China and Taiwan. Statistics also showed that export of refined zinc increased month by month and the rising trend seemed to continue.

Japan exported 12,569 tonnes of flat products in June 2008 decreased by 52.8% YoY. The average export price was JPY 100,000 per tonne.

South Korea was the major export destination at 2,851 tonnes and the price on average was JPY 102,000 per tonne FOB, shipments to Singapore was 3,260 tonnes and the average export price was JPY 113,000 per tonne FOB. China imported 2,938 tonnes of flat products from Japan and the price on average was at JPY 95,000 per tonne FOB.

Global Steel Philippines Inc has started production of steel plates with the recent commissioning of its plate mill in Iligan.

Mr Sangram Mohanty VP for corporate communications at Global Steel said that it is targeting a production of 20,000 tonnes a month of steel plates, both for the domestic sector and for export to other Southeast Asian markets.

At the same time, Mr Mohanty confirmed Global Steel’s continuing interest to invest in the local mining sector to complement its existing steel manufacturing activities. He added that "We are looking at all mines and have not seriously sat down with any specific group. We are not sure of the availability of iron ore because it has not really been mapped.”

Aside from Global Steel, a lot of other Indian investors have their sights set on the Philippines.

Future Steel Vehicle Program releases early styling images for alternative power train vehicle using advanced high-strength steel body structure.

Four technical options are being considered for a year 2015-2020 vehicle electric and plug in hybrid electric vehicles for 4+ passengers and plug in hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles for 5 passengers.

All four types will achieve emissions that are well below requirements being proposed around the world. Material choice becomes increasingly important as the use phase emissions are decreased or eliminated using alternative power trains. Steel produces 5 to 15 times less emissions than other materials used for light weighting.

Combination of alternative power trains and advanced high strength steel reduces a vehicle's life cycle carbon footprint.

Future Steel Vehicle Program has produced early styling sketches based on the packaging studies initiated in the Phase I research, which are released today by World Auto Steel member companies.

WorldAutoSteel's Future Steel Vehicle program is in its first phase with a careful evaluation of next-generation vehicle technologies that respond to the challenges of increasing fuel efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving safety. Inherent in these technology changes are opportunities to optimize the vehicle's structure that will minimize weight and enhance the system's overall performance.

The resulting vehicle architecture will feature the latest portfolio of Advanced High-Strength Steels from around the world, allowing engineers and designers to reduce the total mass of the vehicle design without sacrificing safety or packaging requirements. These two issues become increasingly pertinent in future vehicle designs as engineers look to package new elements like batteries, electric motors and even hydrogen tanks into a vehicle that will most likely be used in more dense traffic and urban environments.

ArcelorMittal announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 49% of the share capital in Mineração Pirâmide Participações Ltda.

MPP is a mining company located in Corumbá in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul of Brazil. Its activities are focused on the exploration and development of iron ore and manganese reserves in the region. The price to be paid by ArcelorMittal will be calculated based on the amount of iron ore and manganese reserves in situ assessed according to the Code for the Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves of the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee.

Mr Sudhir Maheshwari member of ArcelorMittal's Group Management Board with responsibility for M&A, Project and Business Development, said that “This investment represents a continuing development in our strategy of upstream integration. Securing supplies of iron ore is an important part of that strategy and will contribute to the future sustainability of our business.”

He added that ArcelorMittal also plans to make additional investments to increase MPP’s iron ore production capacity in the short term. The transaction is subject to receipt of relevant regulatory approvals.

It is reported that Thailand's biggest steelmaker Sahaviriya Steel Group of Companies is looking for ways to better integrate its operations in a bid to strengthen negotiating power with global steel giants who are hunting smaller firms to acquire.

Mr Win Viriyapraphaikit president of Sahaviriya Steel said that ''We are aiming at investing in ore mining, pushing our THB 500 billion smelting project to start as soon as possible and a steel production plant overseas also is in our sights. In doing so we could achieve a goal of being the region's largest integrated steel producer. I have to admit that it is very difficult for us to keep a majority holding in the assets we founded.''

Surging demand for steel products over the past 5 years, coupled with capacity utilization constraints, have been key catalysts. As a result, says Mr Win, a handful of gigantic players can wield huge influence on prices. He added that ''With ArcelorMittal's output bigger than the combined capacity of all its peers, it can announce production cuts when steel market prices soften.''

Mr Win said that steel bar was USD 1,500 per tonne in July 2008 as compared with USD 570 in June 2006, with steel sheet up to USD 1,200 a tonne from USD 600 at the end of last year. He said Sahaviriya's huge smelter would be a key weapon to help the company fight back against global market dominance by a few foreign companies.

Mr Win also called for support from the government in the form of a master plan for the steel sector, similar to plans prepared by rival countries. Among them are Vietnam, China and Pakistan, which view steel as a national strategic industry.

It is reported that stakeholders in the Nigerian metal sector converged on the bustling city of Lagos for an unprecedented two day summit last week. The attendance was overwhelming, as participants came from all over the world to see, hear and make contributions on how to make optimal use of the rich metal resource of Nigeria.

Mr Alh Ahmed Mohammed Gusau minister of state for mines & steel development talked about government policy towards the sector Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Nigerian Iron Ore Company and on some key infrastructure for iron and steel development in Nigeria.

He also revealed for the first time, how his ministry is making efforts at inspecting and certifying all locally produced and imported iron rods into the country. He finally begged Nigerians to be patient with the pace of the present government saying that “We are not a go slow government.”

Reuters reported that Singapore's Pacific Shipping Trust is planning to raise up to USD 92.3 million via a rights issue to help fund the purchase of 4 vessels.

As per report Pacific Shipping plans to sell 252.8 million new units by issuing 3 new units for every 4 existing units. The new units are priced at USD 0.365 each, marginally below the last traded price of USD 0.375.

It said that the proceeds will be used to finance and refinance its acquisitions of 4 new vessels, working capital requirements and other corporate purposes.

Vietnam News cited distributors and traders, reported that declining prices for a variety of goods in Ho Chi Minh City suggest the central bank's anti inflationary policies are succeeding.

The report added that the prices of cement and steel in Ho Chi Minh City have fallen as local demand weakens. Steel prices have declined by 5% over the past two weeks, while cement prices are 1% lower than a week ago. Commodity prices are also slipping, with liquefied petroleum gas now cheaper because of declines in global markets. The local price of rice has also eased.

Meanwhile, HSBC Holdings Plc said that Vietnam's inflation rate, already at the highest level since at least 1992, will probably pass 30% this month due to an increase in retail gasoline prices.

JMB reported that Japanese major 7 electric furnace steel makers including Tokyo Steel Manufacturing posted lower recurring profit for April to June 2008 quarter from same period of 2007 while 3 makers posted recurring loss.

They were suffered from higher ferrous scrap cost. However, their profitability recovers due to plunging scrap market and surging steel selling price. Five electric furnace steel makers expect higher profit for the full year to March 2009.

Polish steel marker Konsorcjum Stali has introduced steep price hikes for steel materials over the last 6 months, most notably in the case of construction steel.

In H1 2008, prices of steel produced by Konsorcjum surged on average by 51% YoY to stand at PLN 990 per tonne. Prices of reinforcement rods and wire rods have gone up the most, rising from between 65% and up to 80%.

According to the producer, the price increases are a direct consequence of rising costs of raw materials and electricity, and indirectly have been triggered by world oil and gas prices.

Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc has posted net profit of USD 21.9 million in April to June 2008 quarter up by 27.1% YoY as against USD 17.2 million in April to June 2007 quarter due in part to charging higher prices for its products. Its sales jumped by 45.1% YoY from USD 122.7 million in the second quarter of 2007 to USD 178 million.

Keystone said that a lower pension credit, a USD 5.4 gain on a legal settlement and higher costs associated with ferrous scrap and energy, also attributed to its profit gain.

It is likely that Nippon Steel Corporation will face a considerable delay in starting its HR coil export negotiations on shipments to South Korea in the October to December 2008 quarter. In a normal year, NSC begins its negotiations in early August on HR coil exports to South Korea for Q4 shipments. This time, though, there is a strong possibility that the start up of the negotiations will lag into the week of August 25th 2008 or later.

Having a major impact are the aftereffects of a fire that broke out July 29th 2008 around the number coke oven in NSC's Yawata works. At present, the Yawata works is in continued production with resumed operations of the Tobata number 4 blast furnace by making use of the existing coke stock and relief coke supplies from NSC's other works. For its part, NSC is struggling avoiding an adverse influence on various customers.

But it is undecided so far when to resume operations of the number 5 coke oven in the Yawata works. As a result, the after effect of the accident has begun to arise. There is even a view that the Yawata works may lose 150,000 to 160,000 tonnes of crude steel production this week, compared with an initially forecast 10,000 tonnes or so. Besides, a malfunction is reported in blast furnace operations at NSC's other works. All things considered, NSC could end up with a major reduction of crude steel production from its works as a whole, experts point out.

As a result, NSC indicates its position to start negotiations on its HR coil exports to South Korea for Q4 shipments once an exportable volume shapes up. There are suggestions that NSC may offer a moderate price increase of USD 100 per tonne or less in the negotiations, compared with a major price increase of USD 200 per tonne or beyond in past offers.

Meanwhile, recent offers in China's HR coil exports to South Korea indicate a trend toward offering a certain price reduction, according to market sources. In contrast, HR coil demand for improved infrastructure still continues strong both in China and South Korea.

According to a survey by Japan Ferrous Raw Materials Association, Japan's steel industry set the blending ratio of ferrous scrap to pig iron at 14.8% for LD converter feed in May 2008, up from 12.4% YoY in the year before, when ferrous scrap consumption for LD converter feed totaled 1,280,000 tonnes up by 270,000 tonnes or 26.7% YoY.

The blending ratios of ferrous scrap to pig iron for LD converter feed averaged 14.1% in January to May 2008 period, up from 12.4% YoY in the same period of 2007. Ferrous scrap consumption for LD converter feed totaled 5,998,000 tonnes in January to May 2008 period, up by 1,020,000 tonnes or 20.5% YoY, amounting to an annualized 14,400,000 tonnes.

According to Ukrayinska Pravda report, Poland plans to build a thermal power plant working on coal run counter to the EU policy to cut CO2 emissions. Poland is to substantially reduce its CO2 emissions by 2013.

Meanwhile, Mr Waldemar Pavlak Poland economy minister stated plans to build a coal thermal electricity plant in Ukraine to supply Poland with electricity. He said that the plan, even a hypothetical one, will boost Poland’s bargaining position in its talks with the European Commission on CO2 quotas.

For Ukraine, which is eager to establish itself as an energy exporter, the project would be quite acceptable. For instance, Ukraine electricity supplies meet the needs of the Zamostya region in Poland.

In the case of Ukraine, the bottom line is Poland’s desire to by pass the EC sanctions. That is why Brussels won’t take the project lying down. Meanwhile, the EC department on environment has announced they are studying the details of the project.

It is reported that Fijian competition regulator Commerce Commission has invited industry groups and members of the public to make submissions on new price proposals by Fletcher Pacific Steel Limited, which is the only supplier of reinforcement steel rods.

An order by the ministry of commerce in 2007 had declared price control on reinforcement steel rods in two grades namely 300 and 430 both plain and deformed. Since then, the commission had authorized price increases in steel rods as a result of big increases of prices worldwide.

The commission is currently considering FPSL’s price submission which is aimed for implementation from September 1st 2008. It has provided an information paper outlining FPSL’s proposal for interested industry groups and members of the public to help them in their submissions.

Meanwhile, the commission is conducting an inquiry into the telecommunications industry and is inviting submissions from industry stakeholders and members of the public on a number of issues. Amongst others in a list of issues the commission is seeking views on whether some telecommunications service license holders have substantial market powers.

The commission is also asking whether it should recommend regulations for licensees to offer a particular form of indirect access or access to their telecommunications facilities, and in what form. It has asked for interested members of the public or industry stakeholders to make their submissions before August 31st 2008.

It is reported that the local government of Iligan City is willing to forego half of the PHP 2 billion taxes due from Global Steel International Inc, which has piled up since 1999 as ownership of the sprawling properties of Global Steel International, has yet to be settled.

Mr Lawrence Cruz Mayor of Iligan city said that transfer of ownership to the Indian owned operator has yet to be settled. He added that "GSII owes us PHP 2 billion in real estate tax arrears including penalties since 1999 when it closed operations. Penalty and interests partially will be waived but we will not condone the basic tax. This means, there is about half of the amount due us."

Mr Cruz said that some companies owe the city real estate taxes but the biggest debtor is the city’s steel firm. The tax arrears of NSC covered the period 1999 to 2004 in the amount of PHP 177 million, more or less. He added that "The tax liability we are referring to pertains to National Steel Corporation and not that of Global Steel Philippines."

NSC, which used to be owned by the government’s National Development, went bankrupt and closed operations in 1999. It reopened in 2004 under after Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited of India’s Ispat Group won bidding for its tender offer of PHP 13.255 billion payable over an eight year period to various local banks led by the Philippine National Bank.

Before it closed in 1999, the NSC was paying almost PHP 1 billion in taxes every year to the national government and an additional P200 million in real estate taxes to Iligan City. With its reopening, it is expected to contribute around PHP 4 billion to the country’s gross domestic product.