ET reported that the Indian government may exempt value added long products from the purview of export duty if products are made out of imported raw material, under Advance License Scheme, which envisages certain export commitment from steel producers in lieu of availing duty free import of inputs for steel making.

At present, a duty of up to 15% is levied on export of most of the long steel products even if these are manufactured from raw materials imported under the Advance License Scheme.

According to the report, the revenue department has approved the Steel Ministry's proposal of introducing a scheme of duty free export of steel products made from raw materials imported under ALS. The report cited a senior official in the steel ministry as saying that "The revenue department has in principle approved the proposal, which we had mooted during the meeting of the Committee of Secretaries to review essential commodity prices on May 30.”

IANS reported that Jindal Steel and Power Ltd will invest INR 18300 crore in Chhattisgarh to set up a steel unit and a 1,000 MW captive power plant. JSPL already has a 3 million tonne per annum steel unit at Raigarh.

Mr Pradeep Tandon VP corporate affairs of JSPL told IANS that "The company has signed a deal with the Chhattisgarh government to invest INR 18300 crore for a 4 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant, including a 1,000 MW captive power plant at Raigarh.”

According to the agreement, the company will invest INR 5000 crore on the captive power plant out of the total INR 18300 crore investment. The government will help the company to get coal blocks and iron ore linkage for these projects while the company will complete its projects in a scheduled time frame in compliance with the state's industrial policy.

JSPL signed a deal in May 2007 as well for setting up a 3 million tonne per annum steel unit at Raigarh for which work is underway. With the latest agreement, the company is investing a total of INR 25000 crore in the state to take its total annual production to 10 million tonnes from the present 3 million tonnes.

IANS reported that TATA Power is planning and studying a minimum USD 3 billion foray into nuclear power.

The report cited Mr Sharaf Ali Bohra advisor for TATA Power as saying that “TATA Power will initially venture into nuclear power either on its own or through a joint venture once the sector is opened up to private utilities. In the long term, TATA Power would also like to go into the business of front end and back end fuel cycle technology business.”

Mr Bohra told IANS that "It is too early to discuss actual figures. We are studying not only various technologies, regulatory and policy scenarios but business models as well adding the actual investment will depend on several issues technology, fuel policy and the question of nuclear liability.”

He said that at present, four major technologies are available for nuclear power using enriched uranium. India also has an indigenous technology using natural uranium, as it does not have the sanction to import enriched uranium.

Mr Bohra also said that “India-US nuclear deal is necessary to allow the inflow of technologies and fuel. This apart, the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, also has to be amended so that joint ventures can be formed with the state run Nuclear Power Corp.”

Amidst the currently prevailing volatile and speculative steel price scenario in India, SteelGuru.com has started the much needed barometer to track and measure the price movements on daily basis.

Steel prices being an issue at the forefront in the context of inflation, drawing significant government attention, making up for about 4 per cent in the Wholesale Price Index(WPI), has been media's most favorite and hot topic at the moment. Unfortunately, the facts are misrepresented very often due to complexity in the structure and the dynamics of the steel market, leaving the users of the information mostly in a state of confusion.

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It is reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals is planning an investment of USD 2.5 billion (over INR 10,000 crore) in the next four years to ramp up capacity to meeting the growing electricity needs.

Mr K Ravi Kumar CMD of BHEL said that “We will be investing INR 5,000 crore in the first phase till December 2009 to reach 15,000MW capacity. Besides, the Board has also approved an investment of similar amount to take the capacity to 20,000MW by 2012.”

Mr Kumar said that on overseas expansion, company is looking for acquisitions and will appoint global consultants to advise them. Earlier BHEL had set aside INR 10,000 crore for overseas expansion and were scouting for companies on its own.

He added that the investment is in line with the order book of the company, which has crossed the 100,000 mark and is still growing.

BS reported that India’s largest gas marketing and distribution company GAIL India may take over marketing of natural gas from ONGC entirely. As per report, the proposal is pending at ministry level.

The recent rise in gas prices is believed to have drawn GAIL’s attention to these regions and it has proposed to take over direct marketing of gas from ONGC entirely.

In May 1992, gas pipelines and marketing functions related to natural gas were transferred by ONGC to GAIL. However, there are certain isolated pockets where ONGC continues to be the marketing agency. ONGC currently supplies gas directly in isolated pockets of India, mainly in Gujarat and Assam, which contributes around INR 100 crore to ONGC’s total marketing revenues. Gujarat's share in marketing of ONGC gas is about INR 75 to INR 80 crore while Assam region contributes about INR 20 crore. Ankleshwar and Bharuch industrial areas are the major areas in Gujarat where ONGC markets gas directly while in Assam it supplies to the tea gardens.

The report cited An ONGC official as saying that “Even if the Centre approves this move, it will not make much difference to the company as the marketing of gas contributes a very small portion of its overall turnover. This might however lead to some shifting of manpower at ONGC.”

Project Today reported that Shipping Corporation of India is planning to invest over INR 1,200 crore in its offshore activities by the end 2008.

SCI plans to launch two to three new projects in offshore service areas, including buying six to eight anchor handling towing-cum-supply vessels of various sizes that these days command a charter rate of about USD 11,900. The vessels are used to install and maintain oil platforms.

BL reported that Nagarjuna Construction Company has firmed up plans to enter the power sector in a big way. As per report the Hyderabad based, INR 3,400 crore infrastructure major has identified Machilipatnam Port and Srikakulam areas to locate coal fired super critical power projects.

Nagarjuna Construction Company said that the estimated investments in each of the areas would be of INR 10,000 crore.
1. In Machilipatnam, NCC will establish three units of 660 MW each as part of consortia, including Maytas Infra.
2. In Srikakulam, Nagarjuna Construction Company will go on its own with plans to put up 3 x 660 MW units.

Mr Raghu Alluri Associate Head (Projects) of Nagarjuna Construction Company said that some international companies have shown interest in a strategic partnership in implementing the power projects. He told BL that the power plants are intended to not just meet the captive demands of the Port, but also act as a major draw for catalysing the growth of industries in the neighbourhood.

BS reported that the wholly owned subsidiary of Korean construction equipment major Hyundai Heavy Industry’s Hyundai Construction Equipment India Private Limited has ramped up their production capacity this year in pursuit of greater market share.

Mr Suvendu Moitra head of marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Private Limited L while speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of their East Regional office at Kolkata said that “The company's new manufacturing unit in Pune, which would be operational from August this year, would scale up the production capacity from its present 2500 units to 10000 units per annum within the next three to four years.”

He said that the 50 acre Pune unit, built up at a cost of INR 300 crore would basically manufacture construction equipments of 20, 11 and eight tons capacity.

Mr Jongsik Kim MD of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Private Limited said that the higher tonnage capacity equipment will be imported from their Korean unit as of now, he added. With this unit, HCEIL expects to gain market share of 12% to 15% in the country. Mr Kim pointed out that the eastern region, covering West Bengal, North East, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, have high potential owing to the presence of five Coal India subsidiaries and heavy mining activities, along with rapid industrialization and infrastructure boom.

It is reported that India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the modernization of Chennai and Kolkata airports, at a cost of over INR 3,750 crore.

The report said that the entire modernization and expansion activities will be undertaken by Airports Authority of India, which will also retain ownership of the two airports.

It said that while the Kolkata airport will be developed at an estimated cost of INR 1,942.51 crore, while the modernization of Chennai airport will cost INR 1,808 crore.

The Kolkata and Chennai airport will be completed within 30 months and 26 months respectively, from the date of award of contract.

BS reported that the draft new industrial policy for Karnataka is ready and it would be uploaded onto the website to elicit suggestions and comments from the various stakeholders.

Mr Murugesh Nirani minister for major and medium industries speaking to reporters on Friday at his newly set up office in Mini Vidhana Soudha said that the stakeholders would be given five days to send their comments and suggestions.

He added that “Based on the suggestions, modifications, if necessary, would be made and the final policy document would be released in a fortnight.”

According to data from the regulator, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has issued 24,498 carbon credits to Lanco Industries for its clean development mechanism project that aims at reducing greenhouse gases.

The 12 MW captive power project generates electricity based on waste heat recovery of industrial gases at Rachhagunneri village in Andhra Pradesh. The project will help the company earn substantial additional revenue by selling carbon credits generated by the unit.

At the December carbon emission reductions futures price of INR 1,340 a tonne on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, these credits are worth INR 33 million.

The Lanco project is expected to reduce 52,330 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually for a fixed period of 10 years ending September 30th 2016.

BL reported that Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd’s INR 12,000 crore metro rail project will call for global bids in a few days to appoint independent engineers to evaluate the design for the project. The report said that the independent engineers would have 200 to 250 engineering professionals with expertise in assessing and scrutinizing a variety of aspects that would go into the totally elevated project.

Mr NVS Reddy MD of HMRL told Business Line that “We will be floating global bids for short-listing and selecting the IE group to take up the assignment that is estimated at INR 120 crore. Being a neutral body, it will study the project and submit its report.”

He said that the independent engineers group could either be one single company, or, it could be a consortium comprising not more than three firms, which developed expertise in this particular area.

Mr Reddy said that the Maytas-Nava Bharat Ventures consortium, which would implement the project under the design, build, finance, operate and transfer mode, would appoint its own general consultant for the design part. It said that the design prepared by this consultant would go for scrutinizing to check whether it has met the basic specifications agreed upon.

The mass rapid transport system, which is being built in a unique model where the Government will earn money for awarding the project to a private party, would have a total of five broad agencies to assess, advice, supervise and implement the 71.16 kilometer project.

Project monitor reported that OCL India is in an advanced stage of completing its capacity expansion project at Rajgangpur in Sundergarh district of Orissa.

A senior project official said that the expansion would come on stream by November this year. The project aims at doubling the plant's capacity to 4 million tonnes per annum and setting up a 27 MW coal fired power plant to meet the additional energy requirements. OCL India is part of Dalmia Group with Dalmia Cement Limited, the group's flagship holding around 22%.

Incidentally, Dalmia Cement Limited has recently formed a subsidiary Dalmia Cement Ventures Limited to set up Greenfield cement manufacturing plants in different parts of the country with a combined capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum. The total investment is estimated at INR 4,000 crore to be financed on a 2:1 debt equity ratio.

DCBL officials were not available to comment on the potential sites for the new plants, but industry sources indicate that a few of these plants could come up in eastern India, to capitalize on OCL India Limited's existing market share in the region.

DCBL currently operates a 3.5 million tonnes per annum plant at Dalmiapuram in Tamil Nadu. 2 Greenfield plants each of 2 million tonnes per annum are under construction at Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu and Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh. The Ariyalur project is scheduled to commission in September this year while the Cuddapah project will turn commercial in June next.

According to Mr Kallol Datta chairman & MD of Andrew Yule & Company, Indian power majors TATA Power and Reliance Energy have expressed interest in picking up 57% in Dishergarh Power Supply Corporation Ltd.

Mr Datta said that that five companies, including the above three, had responded to an expression of interest floated by Andrew Yule for selling 57% stakeholding in DPSC as per the revival package sanctioned for the heavy engineering PSU.

Andrew Yule along with two coal companies control 15% in DPSC, state run life Insurance Corporation had 42% stake in DPSC and would also sell its stake in DPSC.
Mr Datta said that a board appointed committee was monitoring the DPSC divestment process which would take place through an open tender route.

Project Today reported that India Bulls Group promoted company Sophia Power is currently processing EPC bids and finalizing coal linkages for Phase I of the 1,320 MW (2x660 MW) thermal power project. The project is located at Village Nandgaonpet in Amravati of Maharashtra.

Phase-I forms part of Amravati thermal power project 2,640 MW to be implemented in two phases over 1,350 acres of land. SEPCO, China has evinced interest in the bids invited on May 20th 2008.

The company expects to finalize the contractor by end August 2008. The scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply and commissioning of the project.

The highlights for the first nine months of 2007-08 are as under

1. Order intake was EUR 41.5 billion down by 3% as compared to EUR 42.8 billion in 9 months of last year

2. Sales rose by 2% YoY to EUR 39.7 billion

3. EBITDA was EUR 3,646 million as compared with EUR 4,266 million in the prior year.

4. Earnings before taxes decreased to EUR 2,297 million from EUR 2,853 million in the previous year

The highlights for the 3rd quarter of 2007-08 are as under

1. Order intake was EUR 14.2 billion as compared to EUR15.6 billion in 3rd quarter of 2006-07

2. Sales rose to EUR 14.2 billion as against EUR 13.4 billion in Q3 of 2006-07

3. EBITDA was EUR 1,366 million as against EUR 1,728 million

4. Earnings before taxes were EUR 909 million as compared with EUR 1,219 million in the prior year.

Dr Ekkehard Schulz Executive Board Chairman said “Our performance to date impressively demonstrates the advantages of our balanced portfolio of activities in Steel, Capital Goods and Services and our strategy of occupying at least top 3 positions in attractive markets. For the current fiscal year we are raising our earnings forecast to over EUR 3.2 billion before taxes and nonrecurring items. As things stand at present we also expect sales to increase to EUR 53 billion. This will fulfill our expectations of a good fiscal year.”

The release said that “Earnings expectations for the Group take into account the fact that the Steel segment will not be able to pass on the sharp rises in raw material prices in particular for iron ore and coking coal in full to customers in the current fiscal year due to contract structures. Demand for steel products remains very pleasing, as reflected in continued price increases, fully confirming the expectations of another good steel year.”

The release added that “In the Stainless segment, base prices are improving more slowly than expected. Demand is stable, while service centers are being cautious in view of the nickel price trend. Due to the weakness of the US dollar there are signs of further imports from the US dollar zone, which could slow prices in the second half of the year. Nevertheless, the segment is expected to deliver a positive earnings contribution.”

South African Competition Tribunal announced that it has approved the sale of vertically integrated assets by South African steel producer Highveld Steel & Vanadium to Duferco Investment Partners.

Duferco's subsidiary Vanchem Vanadium Products would acquire Highveld Steel's Vanchem operations, as well at is 50% stake in South Africa Japan Vanadium and 350 ordinary shares in the Mapochs mine, which produced titaniferous magnetite ore for Highveld Steel, and ore fines for Vanchem. The shares comprised one vote each in a shareholder's meetings with regard to any resolution that could affect supply to Vanchem Vanadium Products.

The deal formed part of the European competition regulatory body's conditions of the 2007 Highveld Steel acquisition by Evraz. The European competition regulatory body in 2007 declared that the merger between Highveld and Russian steel company Evraz would give rise to competition concerns in the vanadium industry and that these vertically integrated assets had to be sold.

Anglo American sold its 79% stake in Highveld to Evraz and banking firm Credit Suisse for ZAR 4.9 billion. Evraz later acquired Credit Suisse's 24.9% stake for about USD 219 million.

Companhia Siderurgica Nacional has announced its results for the Q2 of 2008.

1. Second quarter net revenue totaled BRR 3.6 billion, a quarterly record, 17% up on the previous three months and 19% up YoY. First half net revenue stood at BRR 6.6 billion, also a new record, 21%, or more than BRR 1.1 billion more than in the same period in 2007

2. Second quarter EBITDA of BRR 1.7 billion, another quarterly record, was 33% up on the BRR1.3 billion recorded in the 1Q08 and 2Q07. EBITDA in the first six months reached BRR 3.0 billion, yet another record and a 30% YoY improvement

3. In 2Q08, the parent company and consolidated EBITDA margin stood at 50% and 48%, respectively, up by 5 pp and 6 pp over the 1Q08 and by 1 pp and 5 pp over the 2Q07. CSN has consistently recorded EBITDA margins of above 40% for more than 7 years

4. Gross profit totaled BRR 1.7 billion in the 2Q08 and BRR 2.9 billion in the 1H08, both of which also new records

5. In the 2Q08 alone, net income exceeded BRR1.0 billion, 34% higher than the previous quarter. In the 1H08, net income reached BRR 1.8 billion, the best six month result in the Company's history, 5% up YoY

As per reports in media, South African Competition Commission expects to receive more information, which would implicate more steel companies and highlight more products that have had their prices inflated owing to collusion in the industry.

Mr Thulani Kunene head of the Competition Commission’s enforcement & exceptions division said that the commission would now focus on gathering all the information and putting its case together to refer the matter to the Competition Tribunal.

He said that “If we are successful, then those who feel that they may have suffered damage as a result of the cartel would then be free to pursue a civil claim against the companies that are implicated. We have been approached by more companies for leniency, some of them for the same products, and others for different products.”

Mr Kunene said that a number of steel producers are under investigation and the commission decided to raid the companies that its investigations showed were likely to harbor most of the information it needed.

Mr Kunene said that “Companies are taking the competition authority seriously. And it’s a really good deal for a company that comes forward, because they don’t get prosecuted and they don’t have to pay a fine, and they also do not suffer the reputation harm that those who haven’t come forward suffer as well.”

It was initially estimated that the prices of reinforcing bar, wire rod, sections, roofing bolts and fencing products including droppers had been inflated by at least 20%.

The rising input costs of steel have been blamed for the increasing price tag of most infrastructure projects in South Africa, from Eskom’s new power station build program, the Airports Company South Africa upgrades, the Gautrain, the FIFA 2010 World Cup stadiums, to the roll out of low cost housing. The commission took a decision almost a year ago to prioritize investigations into infrastructure inputs.

Bernama reported that Malaysian government has been urged to consider abolishing tariffs on all steel bars and billets to ease the current shortage which has resulted in a critical increase in prices.

As per report, Master Builders Association Malaysia said the steel bars and billets were currently tiered at 5% common effective preferential tariff from Association of South East Asian Nations members and 15% most favored nation from other countries.

MBAM said at the ministry of International Trade & Industry Dialogue 2008, said that "The proposal will make it easier for the construction industry to obtain cheaper steel bars and feed its current growth and to ensure projects can be completed according to deadline."

MBAM said that Taiwan had suspended exports of rebars and steel billets for three months to increase local supplies and curb price escalations since March 2008. It added that the suggestion would help contribute towards disciplining the local steel industry and help solve the perennial steel shortage that has affected the construction industry.

Meanwhile, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia said that the authorities should rectify the situation by fully liberalizing the import of steel bars, rods and wires immediately to ensure supply at competitive prices for the domestic housing and construction industry.

REHDA and related industry players welcomed the government’s decision to liberalize the cement market but did not agree with the imposition of 10% import duty. It added that "The cement importers still have to consider other expenses such as handling and especially transportation charges, which can be a very hefty expense now with increase in fuel price."

It is reported that Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited is producing its largest plate mill rolls for the Asian steel market in two deals worth more than GBP 4.5 million.

As per repot, Forgemasters' engineers are on the verge of completing the first pair of eight 170 tonne back up rolls, which work to create many tonnes of pressure required in steel plate rolling mills, for the huge steel mills in India and China.

The first four back up rolls, produced for Siemens VAI, will be shipped to Chinese steel company Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corporation in a deal worth almost GBP 2.5 million. It is also producing four back up rolls for Jindal Steel & Power Limited, in a deal worth more than GBP 2 million.

Mr Martin Wilks senior sales manager at SFIL said that "Forgemasters is one of very few companies in the world which has the capability to supply steel rolls of this size. As a company we have been very proactive in developing a unique new ingot mould using the latest in engineering and design techniques to help us produce some of the largest mono block steel back up rolls for the emerging wide plate mills around the world."

In 2005 Forgemasters began a 2 year project to develop a giant new ingot mould to match the huge expansion of capacity in large plate mills in Asia. The first 300 tonne ingot was produced in 2007 and Forgemasters is now developing a second mould as demand for 170 tonne rolls increase. The new mould significantly increased the size range of Forgemasters' steel rolls.

It is reported that the board of Venezuelan state run steelmaker Siderúrgica del Orinoco has asked Venezuela's VP office to consider declaring a budget emergency in the steel plant, with the aim of obtaining additional resources.

This request was made in a report issued that presents an assessment of the current situation of the company after its nationalization. The goal of the steelmaker, as stated in the document, is to support communities. Within this framework, the report contains both the request to declare a budget emergency and a proposal to adjust the prices of Sidor products traded in the domestic market.

For the board of the nationalized company, the gap in prices in the domestic market with respect to prices in international markets implies a loss of USD 172 million of additional revenues from August to December 2008.

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It is reported that Nucor Steel is planning to increase base prices for plate by USD 79 per short ton for September shipments.

The main reasons for the rise are strong demand coupled with an effort to recover a scrap surcharge reduction of USD 59 per short ton. The move is bringing its price to USD 1,430 per ton, a rise of USD 20 per ton.

(Sourced from Yieh.com)

ISRI, in an August 11th 2008 letter to the Export Import Bank of the United States, has opposed the attempt by the American Scrap Coalition to block the bank from extending credit for the sale and export of USD 24 million of shredded scrap to Turkey.

It said that “Because ASC argues, without cause or reason, that exports of ferrous scrap should be discouraged by the US Government, its departments, agencies and other associated bodies, ISRI vigorously opposes ASC's attempt to block the Export Import Bank action as an inappropriate argument with regard to the matter before the Bank.”

The release added that “Although ISRI does not normally comment on matters relating to the commercial interests of an individual member, it felt it critical to do so in this case given the attempt of the American Scrap Coalition to block the legitimate pursuit of support from the Export Import Bank on the basis of a false statement of a crisis in steel scrap and a veiled attempt to impose controls on exports of goods that have a long history of global trade."

Mr Robin Wiener president of ISRI said that "The denial of a bank credit limit to Sims Group Global Trade Corp, even indirectly, would set a dangerous precedent, especially in light of the Export-Import Bank's stated mission to promote exports and its previous approvals of support for the export of scrap materials. ISRI strongly disagrees with the Coalition that an argument to restrict steel scrap exports from the United States is an appropriate basis for a denial on the part of the Bank to a request for support, or that it is appropriate mechanism for addressing its concerns whether legitimate or not over dumped rebar imports originating in Turkey."

ISRI's letter points out that recent independent research concludes that there is enough scrap to meet domestic manufacturers' demand for recycled materials for the foreseeable future, with scrap available both domestically and from foreign sources. ISRI points out that "The Coalition falsely concludes that there is a shortage of domestic steel scrap because scrap exports have increased from 6 million tons in 2000 to 18 million tons in 2007. Although it is true that the export of ferrous scrap has significantly increased over the last few years, it does not follow that there is a shortage of domestic scrap. In fact, the U.S. scrap recycling industry has consistently produced more material than domestic steel industries can consume."

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Reuters reported that Indonesia’s PT Krakatau Steel is reportedly looking at hiring banks to handle an initial public offering and sale of a block of stock to a strategic investor that would raise USD 300 to USD 400 million.

According to report, ArcelorMittal is interested in buying a stake. Krakatau is Indonesia’s largest steelmaker and its assets are valued at about IDR 11 trillion. It is one of 37 Indonesian state owned enterprises slated for privatization this year to help cut a widening budget gap. Krakatau also wants to buy stakes in iron ore producers to secure supplies and forecasts its profit may triple this year on higher demand.

It is reported that all 375 imported cylinders of compressed natural gas from the shipment that contained a tank that exploded last week have been removed from the market pending a safety review in Thailand. The explosion took place at a PTT service station in Samut Prakan where a privately owned bus was being refuelled. A pump attendant was injured and seven vehicles damaged.

As per the report, most of the 145 liter cylinders with serial numbers from 54187 to 545562 had been installed in trucks and buses and a total of 90 cylinders were in the process of being installed in garages.

Mr Norkhun Sitthipong deputy permanent secretary of the Energy Ministry said that Siam Ratchathani Company, the company that imported the cylinders in April has agreed to the withdrawal. He added that the company would offer free replacement CNG kits to any customers who had purchased the units.

The importer told the ministry that the 375 cylinders had been manufactured by Fine Tech Company of South Korea with steel from China. A spokesman for the importer said that ''The material of these tanks might be the main root cause. Normally a CNG cylinder needs a special grade of steel, which should have light weight but be very strong to withstand high pressure of at least 200 bars.''

JMB reported that welded steel pipe supply is expected to get easier in the dealers' market around Tokyo though the makers try to improve the supply balance by reducing the order receipt in April to June 2008 period.

The dealers' shipment decreases since July 2008 while some sizes are still thin in their inventory. The dealers are cautious the supply balance could impact on the price toward the demand season.

It is reported that US based Integrated Industrial Systems has won a contract to supply equipment to a cold laminate steel plant worth USD 40 million in the southern province of Ba Ria in Vung Tau.

According to the contract, I2S will transfer technology to Thong Nhat Joint Stock Steel Company and install the assembly line production at the company’s plant, to be completed in more than one year’s time.

Mr Vo Van Khoi director of TNS said that once finished, the plant would reach an annual output of 241,000 tons of cold laminate steel. He added that it would supply steel for both domestic and export markets of cars, home appliances and construction materials.

It is reported that German firm Conergy has signed a deal to extend a South Korean solar energy plant and has reached a framework agreement on a EUR 20 million project to expand the plant at Sinan. The extension is expected to be completed by 2008 end and will add 4.35 MW to the existing 19.6 MW capacity of the plant, which became fully operational in June 2008 at a cost of EUR 90 million.

As per report, when the extension is completed the plant will cover an area of 720,000 square meters and will provide enough energy to supply 7,200 households. It includes a solar tracking system developed by Conergy, which is claimed to increase the energy yield by up to 20 percent.

Mr Kim Jihun CEO of Conergy Korea, which provided the plant for Dongyang Engineering & Construction, said that "Building Asia's largest solar power plant is a landmark moment for the renewable energy sector in Korea."

Demand for reusable energy is high in South Korea. Last month the government announced plans to spend KRW 194.4 billion this year on developing solar and wind energy and hydrogen fuel cells, following sharp price increases for imported oil and coal.

Reuters reported that repairs have started in Turkey on the fire damaged Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline but it is not clear when the line will reopen.

A source from a Turkish state Botas pipeline company told Reuters that an initial assessment indicated the damage to the pipeline was not great and that repairs may take less than an earlier forecast two weeks. The source said that "Digging has begun to assess whether there has been damage to the valve on the pipeline, which is very important in determining when the pipeline will be reopened.”

The source told Reuters it would take another two days to clarify when the line could reopen. He said that "We are working to determine the extent of the damage on the line, it is still impossible to say when repairs will be complete.”

According to the method chosen for the repair of the pipeline the process could take one or two weeks or even longer, a Botas source told Reuters last week, but the energy ministry source gave a fresh assessment.

The source said that "It is not possible to give a specific date but the repairs of the line will not go on into September. They may be completed in less than the envisaged two weeks.”

Amidst the currently prevailing volatile and speculative global steel price scenario, SteelGuru.com has started the much needed barometer to track and measure the price movements on daily basis in Middle East.

In order to provide a index for steel prices, we call it SENSEX for steel, SteelGuru.com decided to work on both long products and flat products for respective category indices as also a composite one for steel. We call them LPPI, FPPI and MEASPI and have started releasing these indices with effect from July 1st 2008, after taking June 30th 2008 as base.

LPPI is based on daily market prices of three benchmark products rebars, wire rod and sections in 5 countries, whereas FPPI is based on HRC, plates, CR and HDG. These indices have been built considering their respective weights in the composite categories as also in the shares of sales in these countries.

The pricing input is from www.steelprices-middleeast.com, which publishes market transaction prices of benchmark products among select locations 5 days a week.

These price indices outline the way domestic steel market is moving day by day and will help producers, agents in the supply chain, steel buyers, bankers and analysts in their respective businesses.

To know more, please visit
http://steelprices-middleeast.com/spi_services/spi.html

It is reported that on the onset of recent military coup in Mauritania, Sphere Investments Ltd has updated the market that the capital Nouakchott is peaceful with businesses trading as usual.

Sphere Investments Ltd has updated the market on the recent government changes in Mauritania where the Company’s iron ore projects are located as under.

It said that “On Wednesday 6th August, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi replaced several senior army officers including General Abdel Aziz, the former commander in chief of the personal forces of the President. Shortly after the dismissal, supporters close to General Abdel Aziz arrested the President. A new council called the State Council has been formed under the leadership of the General Abdel Aziz.”

The release said that “According to Company sources in Mauritania, the capital Nouakchott is peaceful with businesses trading as usual. All of Sphere’s employees are accounted for and continuing their work as normal in the capital Nouakchott and on site.”

The release added that Mauritania has had two peaceful coups in recent years which have not affected the Company’s long term iron ore projects in Mauritania or SNIM’s iron ore exports, which have operated continuously since 1963.

Arabian business.com reported that the total value of new projects in Saudi Arabia, the largest construction market in the Middle East, is expected to reach USD 410 billion in 2009

The report said that the Total real estate investments in Saudi Arabia are estimated at USD 270 billion as extra liquidity floods the market generated from high oil revenues and regional governments.

According to a report by Business Monitor, the growth of the industry has been pushed by the government’s efforts to liberalize the economy.

Aswat Aliraq reported that Salah al Din province has signed a contract to build the first civilian airport in the province with a consortium of Iraqi and Turkish companies. The project will be financed in accordance to the Iraqi investment law in 2006.

The airport is located 10 kilometer east of Tikrit, the capital of the province. The airport is one of the old and simple military airports, established during the Iraqi-Iranian war.

Governor Hamad Hamoud al Qessi said at a press conference said that "A contract was signed to set up a civilian airport in Tikrit with Iraqi and Turkish companies.”

He explained that "Representative of the Turkish Dika company in Iraq Omar Taha signed the contract for the project, which is considered complementary for the airports in Iraq and considered the only civilian airport in the province.”

Deputy Governor Abdullah Hussein Jabara said during the ceremony the project will contribute in transforming the province into another stage in implementing the investment projects and will be a cornerstone in several huge investment projects. He added that "The project will be built in accordance to international standards after receiving the approval of the Iraqi civilian aviation authority."

According to investment bank Beltone Financial, Arabtec Holding’s backlog of work has risen by more than 40% in three months to USD 10.3 billion in August on the back of winning major new construction contracts including for a project in Russia.

The Egyptian bank in a report said that “Efficient execution of contracts and, to a lesser extent, targeted acquisitions of smaller firms were the main reasons for the UAE based contractor’s growth.”

Arabtec’s project to build the USD 2.7 billion 400 meter high Okhta Center for Gazprom Neft in St Petersburg has been one of its biggest contracts to date and represents the firm’s first entry into Russia.

Business Recorder reported that the newly reconstituted board of Karachi Port Trust has expressed strong reservations over the feasibility of the USD 1.6 billion Pakistan Deep Water Container Port project.

According to sources a majority of the board members, at its August 13th meeting at KPT Headquarters, have observed that the mega project, which is envisaged as a transshipment hub catering to the needs of the 6th and 7th generation container ships, is lacking a proper hydraulic study.

The report said that "The Board could not develop consensus on the feasibility of the proposed port and has asked KPT to arrange a detailed presentation of the consultants Royal Hoskonigs and China International Water & Electric in the next meeting.”

They said the project consultants, Royal Hoskonigs has already declared location for the establishment of the proposed port, which involves construction of 10 deep draught berths of 18 meter depth with 5,000 meters of quay wall at Keamari Groyne, as wrong in its first presentation last year to the then KPT Chairman Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat.

The sources further added that the 10 member Board also observed that the KPT's flagship project, which involves dredging and reclamation volumes of more than 34 million cubic meters is yet to get a clearance from the environmental organizations, like Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency. The said that "The board has also asked for details on the repercussion of infill or siltation, present annual ratio of which stands at around 1.5 to 2 million cubic meters after carrying out capital dredging for the project.”

The sources said that the project was forwarded to the Board after being approved by the Departmental Tender Committee and Board Tender Committee last week.

Reuters quoted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iranian president as saying that he hoped his country and Turkey would soon sign deals, opposed by Washington in the natural gas and electricity sectors.

Mr Ahmadinejad was speaking at a news conference in Istanbul during a two day visit where the two countries have failed to conclude expected energy agreements.-

It is reported that Abu Dhabi listed Dana Gas posted a 28% rise in second quarter revenue on higher output of LPG and condensates from its Egyptian operations.

Dana Gas said that revenue at the Middle East's first privately owned natural gas production firm rose to AED 309 million (USD 84.13 million) in the three months to June 30 as compared with AED 241 million in the same period last year. The company posted profit of AED 34 million (USD 9.26 million) in the second quarter.

Dana Gas said that company's production in Egypt ended the quarter with production of 2.51 million barrels of oil equivalent. The second quarter performance beat an analyst forecast of AED 14 million profits for the quarter in a Reuters survey in June.

Mr Abid Riaz a senior research analyst at EFG Hermes said that "We are not too concerned about the detail of the second quarter results everyone is waiting for when the gas flow will start from Iran and also when they begin operations in Kurdistan.”

Gulf Daily news reported that Asia can provide the finance Iran needs to develop its oil and gas reserves limiting the impact of US sanctions and pressure.

Mr Hojjatollah Ghanimifard state oil company NIOC vice president for investment affairs said that "The financial world is not just in the western hemisphere. Iran's call on international financing for oil and gas can easily be moved to the east from the west."

Mr Ghanimifard said that "This kind of pressure from the US is nothing new. Just the tactics are different. The policy is the same. We have learned to live without US technology, help and money. How easily we have been able to find new partners."

He said that Iran is negotiating an exploration deal with Asian oil companies for two oil and gas blocks in the Caspian Sea, but declining to say which companies were involved.

He said that a study had shown that Iran's Caspian region contains an estimated 21 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent. He added that the deal could take the form of a production sharing contract if Iran's parliament and authorities agreed that model of contract was the best for the high-cost Caspian.

Mr Ghanimifard said that Iranian law forbids foreign investment in Iran's upstream energy sector, but exceptions could be granted. He said that foreign companies working in the sector have done so on the basis of buy back deals, under which they receive a share of output for a brief period as repayment for investment. Oil companies prefer PSCs, which give them a long-term share of output and allow them to book reserves.

State run Asian companies keen to secure future energy supplies have resisted pressure from the US to stay away from the world's fourth largest oil exporter Iran. The US has sought to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, which Tehran says is to generate electricity. The US has imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and gas sector for over a decade. More recently, it has put pressure on international banks not to finance deals in Iran.

According to survey from Ministry of Commerce domestic steel price rally has been clipped throughout July and analysts warned that the prices may go through downward correction in the future due to the sluggish demand.

According to the survey, domestic steel products prices average CNY 6,277 per tonne in July up by 0.2% from the previous month, out of which flat products up by 1%, tubes/pipes and sections up by 0.9% each and wire rod down by 0.5%.

Different steel varieties show mixed price trend. In specific, prices for 6.5mm commodity grade high speed wire rod and 25mm rebar have dipped 0.6% and 0.3% respectively from the month before due to the dull season, while flats market holds firm in the period, with prices for 1mm galvanized sheet and commercial CR sheet and 3mm common HR sheet have edged up 1.5%, 0.9% and 0.9% respectively.

Analysts said that the escalating input cost is the main driving force behind the steep steel price rally so far. However, the price uptrend seems run of steam at the moment due to the dull summer season. In addition, the record prices have increased purchase costs for end users, cooling off their buying interest.

(Sourced from China Securities Journal)

It is reported that HRC export market remains quiet this week and there is said to be almost no transaction. Both importers and steel producers are employing a wait and see attitude.

Domestic HRC prices have seen further decrease. On Shanghai market, commercial 4.75mm to 12mm HRC in 1500mm width was at CNY 5320 per tonne to CNY 5350 per tonne down by CNY 250 per tonne from last Tuesday. That for commodity grade 2.75mm HRC went down by CNY 70 per tonne to CNY 6180 per tonne.

Export offers for Q235 or SS400 grade 5mm to 12mm HRC have slipped to USD 960 per tonne to USD 970 per tonne FOB and transaction prices are said to be as low as USD 950 per tonne to USD 960 per tonne FOB.

Traders say that there is few enquiry and steel mills are willing to negotiate price as long as there is real order and some steel makers even have cut export price to USD 930 per tonne to USD 920 per tonne FOB.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Shougang Co Ltd announced that its Beijing Shougang cold rolled sheet company got approval on August 12 from Industry and Commerce Administration Bureau of Beijing for registration.

This project is expected to be completed this year, as a highlighted growth point for Beijing Shougang Co, which had closed down three of its four blast furnaces before the Olympics, reducing its production capacity to 2 million tonne per year.

Involving a registered capital of CNY 2.6 billion, the company is jointly built by Shougang Co Ltd, Shougang Group and Beijing automobile investment company, with Shougang Co Ltd investing 70.28% of the capital.

The cold rolled sheet plant started construction from July 2nd 2005, trial produced the first coil of CR sheet at the pickling line in November 2007 and had its annealing line put into operation this May. The plants are going to further launch two galvanizing lines in August and November this year respectively.

(Source: China Securities Journal)

Bloomberg reported that Angang Steel Co, China's second biggest steelmaker raw material costs may rise faster than steel prices in the second half squeezing its profit margins.

Mr Fu Jihui board secretary said that the average selling price for its products in the third quarter will be between CNY 5,800 and CNY 5,900 per tonne. That's as much as 5.4% higher than in June and lower than the CNY 6,116 forecast by Credit Suisse Group.

According to Beijing Antaike Information Co, Chinese steelmakers need to keep raising steel prices as the costs of iron ore, coking coal and energy had jumped to records. Steel prices in China are heading for a fourth straight week of decline on concerns China's capacity growth may outpace demand. He said that profit margins may be under pressure.''

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.

In order to provide such information 3 web sites have been launched
1. www.steelprices-india.com
2. www.steelprices-china.com
3. www.steelprices-middleeast.com
These portals provide domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in India, China and Middle East on a regular basis 5 days a week. Benchmark products at select locations cover the entire basket of garden variety of steel products including input material for steel making and processing.

In addition, FOB levels for commonly exported steel products from two of the major exporting nation Ukraine & Russia and China are also available to give a sense of alternates.

The prices are displayed on daily, weekly and monthly basis. They also have search facilities to access old data from the archives. Graphical representation of trends and comparison of price movement 2 or more products is also available. A calculator to convert domestic prices into comparative CNF and vice versa is also provided, which takes into account all duties and expenses. In addition, you can monitor currency exchange rates, metal prices, BDI for the day as well as access their archives for past data. Other features include converters for weight, length etc, glossary and advanced search functions. The benchmark product price information is supplemented by global pricing news.

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

All these features are accessible only to registered user who is provided with a login id and password after payment is received. To know more about the service, please logon to the web site and click on “Features”, “Subscription” and if you like the service on “Registration”.

These portals are developed and run by none other that www.steelguru.com, which has become the largest English based steel portal in the world, with more than 1 million page hits per month in just 3 years of operations.

It is reported that Chinese CRC export market is quite weak and there is almost no transaction this week.

The dive of local market prices has been going on. On Shanghai market, 1.0mm CR sheet by Anshan steel goes at CNY 6650 per tonne, 1.2mm to 2.0mm material at CNY 6530 per tonne a drop of CNY 250 per tonne from last Tuesday. 1.0 CR coil by Maanshan steel drop by another CNY 270 per tonne to CNY 6500 per tonne.

Export price for DC01 1.0mm CRC has dropped to USD 1070 per tonne to USD 1060 per tonne FOB from USD 1100 per tonne to USD 1120 per tonne in late last month. Traders mentioned that there has been buying activities since late July and it is even harder to conclude business when prices continue to drop sharply.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Panzhihua New Steel & Vanadium Co the world's third largest producer of vanadium steel used in railroads said Anshan Iron & Steel Group bought a 5.09% stake for at least CNY 1.07 billion.

Sichuan province based Panzhihua said in a Shenzhen Stock Exchange statement Anshan Steel bought 167.1 million shares at between CNY 6.41 and CNY 9.59 each between May and August.

According to Mr Ou Yonglin vice director of Publicity Department of the Port, Chinese East Free Port of Tianjin would exceed throughput of 400 million tonnes by 201