Indian domestic steel prices continued their down slide on Wednesday. Long products dip is reflected in 60point fall in LPPI. But fall in flat products was lesser with FPPI dipping by just 4 points. Overall, the Indian Steel Price Index fell by 32 points.

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

Long products

Flat products

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PTI reported that Steel Authority of India Limited has undertaken the work for enhancement of loading facilities at Bolani iron ore mines in Orissa with an investment of INR 120 crore.

A spokesperson of SAIL's Raw Material Division told PTI, with expansion of the project, the iron ore loading capacity of the mine would go up by 10 million tonnes per annum from the present level of 3.9 million tonnes. He added that the enhancement of facilities is in tandem with the proposed increase in production capacity of the mine to 10 million tonnes.

As part of the first phase of the scheme, RMD has begun installation of reclaimer, stacker, conveyors and stacking yard at Bolani. In the second phase it would take up railway track modification and work related to signaling and telecommunication.

As per the report, State run SAIL targets over 26 million tonnes of steel production by 2010-11 for which RMD aims at churning out over 30 million tonnes of iron ore. To meet the enhanced iron ore requirement, RMD has taken up a slew of projects to develop the existing iron ore mines besides improving mining operations and infrastructure.

The downtrend in prices of input material continued yesterday at major trading centers

Melting scrap
80:20
HMS

Change is on August 20th as compared to August 19th
Change is in INR per tonne

Alang

Change is on August 20th as compared to August 19th
Change is in INR per tonne

Pencil ingot

Change is on August 20th as compared to August 19th
Change is in INR per tonne

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It is reported that Mr Ram Vilas Paswan minister for steel, chemicals and fertilizers while congratulating Sushil Kumar for winning bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 66 kg freestyle category wrestling competition said that the second individual medal in this Olympics won by India, has made us all proud.

He said that public sector undertakings under the steel ministry will pay INR 2.5 million to the wrestler out of which INR 1.5 million will be paid by Steel Authority of India Limited while Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited and National Mineral Development Corporation will pay INR 0.5 million each.

The ministry of steel will felicitate the wrestler on his return to the country.

Mr Sushil Kumar is one of three wrestlers being supported by the SAIL in their preparation for 2010 Commonwealth Games. The two others are Yogeshwar Dutt in 60 kg category and Rajiv Tomar in 120 kg category.

Bloomberg reported that Essar Steel Limited may spend about USD 50 million on a plant in Indonesia to boost capacity by a quarter within 2 years.

Mr KB Trivedi president director of unit PT Essar Indonesia said that capacity will be increased to 500,000 tonnes from 400,000 tonnes. The unit which produces cold rolled coil and other products will expand its plant in Cibitung in West Java.

Mr Trivedi said that “We think domestic demand will grow because the Indonesian economy is starting to improve.”

As per the report, Essar is seeking to tap demand in Southeast Asia's biggest economy where infrastructure projects are expected to support growth. The economy expanded 6.4% in the second quarter, beating economist’s estimates for an expansion of 6.1%.

The downtrend in prices of rebar or TMT continued yesterday at Mumbai and New Delhi.

TMT
12mm
Fe 415

Change is on August 20th as compared to August 19th
Change is in INR per tonne

As per market sources, prices are likely to dip further this week

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Ranchi express reported that the Centre has turned down the proposal to merge Ranchi based consultancy company MECON with the state owned Steel Authority of India Limited.

The report said that Mr Ram Vilas Paswan union minister for chemicals & fertilizer and steel issued a letter categorically rejecting the proposal. Mr Paswan in the letter said that the “Central government had earlier approved a revival package worth INR 100 crore for the consultancy company. The performance of MECON has since then improved considerably.”

Mr Paswan said that "The Ranchi based company, known for providing consultancy services to engineering industry and the steel sector has now diversified to provide consultancy to other core areas like power, oil & gas and infrastructure. Therefore it may not be appropriate to merge it with SAIL."

It is reported that Greenpeace activists staged a sit in outside TATA Group headquarters in Mumbai on Wednesday in protest against the company’s upcoming port at Dhamra in Orissa.

Around 70 protesters formed a human chain, their hands fastened with thick pipes. Some wore green turtle costumes. With juice bottles strapped to their bodies, they sat at each of the three entrances to the building. They sported the slogans, “Turtles over Turnover” and “Extinction is Forever”. The protests lasted for three hours. The police later removed the activists.

Greenpeace has been campaigning against the port which, it said, is too close to the nesting grounds of the highly endangered Olive Ridley turtles. They said that TATA Steel port JV will endanger olive ridley turtles in the area by damaging their nesting ground and wrecking biodiversity.

The protesters said they had written numerous letters to Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group requesting him to change the location of the port but in vain and therefore they were forced to form a human chain in front of TATA headquarters.

Reuters reported that TATA Corus announced that it entered into exclusive negotiations with Klesch & Company to sell its two aluminum smelters in the Netherlands and Germany after an unsuccessful attempt in December to sell the smelters.

TATA Corus in a statement said that "Corus has started discussions with Klesch & Company Limited, which has been granted a period of exclusivity for due diligence to be carried out.”

TATA Corus in December last year had signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell the two smelters to US company American Industrial Acquisition Corporation but following further discussions with AIAC, a decision has been taken not to proceed any further.

High German and Dutch power costs have long troubled Corus' European aluminum operations and many analysts think these costs have slowed the sale of the smelters.

The smelters in Delfzijl in the Netherlands and Voerde in Germany have combined capacity to produce around 250,000 tonnes of primary aluminum annually. Including secondary production from scrap, they have total output of more than 300,000 tonnes of aluminum a year.

Klesch & Company is an investment group which makes equity investments across various industries, in particular oil, gas, transportation, electricity, aluminum and other base metals. Associated companies of Klesch & Company own Zeeland Aluminum Company in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, which produces 290,000 tonnes of aluminum metal per annum.

ANI reported that TATA Steel condemned the Greenpeace activists for agitating in front of its head quarters Bombay House in Mumbai. It said that “It is a clear indication of an organization, which is trying to gain publicity for itself through agitations instead of addressing the issues they have, across the table.”

Tata Steel said that “Based on various studies, it can be clearly established that the port limits of the upcoming Dhamra port are clearly outside the turtle nesting area as well as the National Marine Sanctuary and the Bhitarkanika National Park. This has also been confirmed by the National Environmental Appellate Authority, who had visited the site.”

It added that “TATA Steel has had discussions with Greenpeace on the Dhamra port and the issue of turtles. All issues stand clarified. TATA Steel would be willing to engage in further discussions, should Greenpeace desire to do so.”


Around 90,000 Tata customers and over 200 international scientists and academics and other international groups have written to Ratan Tata asking him to change the location of the port.

It is reported that Kanpur based Kothari Steel Mines and Mumbai based Matrix Metallics have evinced interest in setting up steel plants, at a cost of INR 1,000 crore and INR 1,200 crore respectively in Gadag district of Karnataka.

The companies will set up steel plants with a total production capacity of 1.26 million tonne per annum for which they require 1,000 acres of land not suitable for agriculture, 40 cusecs of water, 25 MW power and proper rail and road connectivity.

Project monitor reported that Shyam Steel Group under the name of Ranchi Castings Private Limited has proposed to set up a 1.1 million tonnes per annum integrated steel plant at Dhanbad in Jharkhand with a total investment of INR 2,000 crore.

Shyam Steel said that land acquisition is in advanced stage. Requests for qualification quotations received from equipment suppliers and consultants are under evaluation.

Mr Sunil Kumar Bhargava president said that "We will soon sign a MoU with Jharkhand government. We have applied for coal and iron ore mines in the state. Water linkage of 8.75 million gallons per day has been sanctioned. Talks for power allotment are in advanced stage."

He said that the plant is scheduled to commission in about 3 and half years from zero date. The zero date is assumed as the completion date for the land acquisition formalities and taking over the site, getting consent for establishment of the plant from the state pollution control board, finalizing the schemes for supply of power and water to the plant, financial closure and finalizing the order for major equipment.

Mr Bhargava said that "Meanwhile, we have planned to set up an integrated steel plant with a capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per annum and a captive power plant of 150 MW at Purulia with an estimated cost of INR 6,000 crore. We will also soon announce another proposal for setting up a 1,000 MW coal based power plant at Dhanbad for which details are being worked out."

It is reported that Visa Steel signed a MoU with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up an integrated steel plant in the state, in lieu of earlier MoU dated March 5th 2003. The proposed steel plant with other facilities will entail an estimated investment of INR 4,750 crore.

It is reported that India's premier Steel manufacturing organization TATA Steel was honored with Think Odisha Leadership Award for Corporate Social Responsibility for 100 years of Service to the Nation. The award which was instituted by The Times of India Group was presented to TATA Steel in a gala function at Bhubaneswar. Mr BK Singh VP Orissa Project of TATA Steel Limited received the award on behalf of the company from chief minister of Orissa Mr Naveen Patnaik.

The jury headed by former Orissa High Court justice, Justice Ch PK Mishra awarded TATA Steel this prestigious honor for its role in building the nation. The jury consisted of noted professionals various fields like Mr Santosh Mohapatra, Ms Aparajita Mohanty, Mr Bijay Mohanty, Mr Prafulla Sahu, Ms Tulasi Munda, Ms Prativa Ray, Dr JP Das and Mr Rabi Das. The award is based on the results of a research conducted by the jury.

Mr Singh said that "TATA Steel believes that excellence doesn't merely come from the profits of the organization, but by successfully achieving the integration of economic, environmental and social imperatives. It is this ability of the TATA Steel that has helped it to achieve an excellence in all the respective spheres. The transformation from a leading Indian steel company to the leading global steel company has been achieved without compromising on these basic principles and values, which the TATA group represents."

The media group along with Tefla's has set up Think Odisha Corporate Social Responsibility Forum. This event is a part of their sustained efforts towards social development and will be an opportunity for a diverse group of business leaders, activists and academics to come together and share their views and experience on several fronts of the Think Odisha Corporate Social Responsibility movement.

It is reported that ABG Shipyard has decided to set up a shipyard in South Gujarat with an investment of INR 1,200 crore.

The proposed shipyard will come over an area of 300 acres of land near existing facility in Hazira and will be largest among its 2 existing shipyards at Surat and at Dahej in Gujarat. It is expected to be operational in 3 years.

As per report, the shipyard will cater to larger ships and offshore vessels and will have a capacity of building 6 to 8 ships a year.

Reuters reported that utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd expects to raise tractor prices in the next three months due to higher steel prices.

Mr Gautam Nagwekar COO for Mahindra's farm equipment sector unit told reporters that "There is a very high probability that it will happen in the next three months.”

But he declined to say by how much prices would be raised. The firm last lifted prices in July 2008.

It is reported that ONGC Tripura Power Company Private Limited has signed a contract with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited for setting up a 726.6 MW capacity combined cycle gas turbine based power project in Palatana in Tripura. The contract value is around INR 2,200 crore an ONGC statement revealed. This formal contract follows the letter of award placed by OTPC on BHEL on June 23rd 2008.

As per report, the 363.3x2 MW CCGT power plant is being developed by OTPC at Palatana in south Tripura. ONGC has 50% equity stake in OTPC, 26% is held by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited and 0.5% by the government of Tripura. The balance equity of 23.5% will be tied up through the most optimal modes including IPO.

OTPC and BHEL have drawn up an ambitious plan of completing the project in the ongoing 11th five year plan. The generation project combined with linked transmission project and upstream gas supply project is slated to bring in investments of around INR 9,000 crore in the region. The project with its fuel efficient advanced class CCGT units will cater to the increasing power needs of the NE states.

For evacuating power from generators, a trunk transmission line is being developed by a special purpose vehicle jointly promoted by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, OTPC and north-east states. An interstate and intrastate sub transmission and distribution systems within the NER will be developed by PGCIL.

It is reported that Power Finance Corporation has set up 2 special purpose vehicles, Sakhigopal Integrated Power Company Limited and Ghogarpalli Integrated Power Company Limited to facilitate the development of additional ultra mega power projects in Orissa.

This will be in addition to one UMPP in Sundargarh district for which a shell company, Orissa Integrated Power Limited has been formed and for which land acquisition is under way.

PFC has asked the Orissa government to identify the sites for the projects and forward the details to PFC and Central Electricity Authority. Senior CEA officials visited Bhubaneswar in May 2008 to discuss the project details. The state government has also been asked to confirm the availability of water for the projects.

PFC has also taken up the issue of coal block allocation for the projects with the coal ministry. Ghogarpalli, Dip side of Ghogarpalli, Sakhigopal-B, Alaknanda and Bankhui are the coal blocks earmarked for the projects. The blocks are expected to produce a total of 2,240 million tonne per annum of coal. Adequacy of these blocks for meeting the requirement of the UMPPs will be taken up for examination by the SPVs in consultation with the ministry.

Exim News Service reported that Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel as saying that the Dhamra Port project a 50:50 JV between TATA Steel and Larsen & Toubro is progressing satisfactorily.

He said that "It is progressing in a phased manner and we will be commissioning it in a year and half."

Mr Muthuraman said that it would find Dhamra Port useful because the former was expanding its steel plant here to 10 million tonnes per annum. He added that Dhamra Port would be used by the company to import coal from Australia for its Jamshedpur steel plant.

It is reported that Acme is planning to set up Asia's biggest solar thermal energy plant in Nagpur, where an SEZ will also being established in which equipment and appliances related to wind, solar and biogas energy will be manufactured. The plant will have a capacity of 10 MW.

It is reported that Toyoda Machine Works has entered into a JV agreement with Delhi based Micromatic Grinding Technologies part of the Ace Micromatic Group to establish manufacturing and sales operations with an investment of INR 100 crore.

Toyoda Micromatic Machinery India with Toyoda Machine Works having a majority 75.5% stake, it will have a new manufacturing facility at Bangalore with an initial investment of INR 25 crore. It will cater to the domestic market as well as export these heavy machines to Europe and South East Asia under the Toyoda and Micromatic brands.

It is reported that the Delhi Cabinet gave its nod for construction of an elevated road over Barapullah drain from Sarai Kale Khan to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The elevated road over Barapullah drain will be constructed to facilitate movement of 10,000 players during the Commonwealth Games from the Games Village to JLN Stadium. An amount of INR 498 crore will be released for construction of the proposed project.

As per report, the road will provide a permanent link between East Delhi and Central Delhi Apart from this, it will also ease traffic congestion on Ring Road at Ashram on Mathura Road and other arterial roads. The project will be completed within 24th months from the award of work.

It is reported that the Central Electricity Authority has rejected the Karnataka government's proposal to set up an UMPP at Ghataprabha near Belgaum and instead, suggested a site either at Tadri near Karwar or near the Almatti dam.

A team of CEA & PFC officials who visited Ghataprabha last month to identify a suitable site for the UMPP rejected it as the movement of coal from port to site would be a problem as it was 150 kilometer away from the coastline. Availability of water and agitation by the locals were seen as other impediments.

The CEA has asked the state government to reconsider the feasibility of setting up the UMPP at coastal Tadri or near the Almatti dam, if water can be allocated from its reservoir.

It said that the Chhattisgarh government has confirmed a site at Salka and Khamaria villages near Udaipur in Surguja district for an UMPP.

The CEA had initially identified a site at Akaltara in Jangir-Champa district. However, the identified coal blocks in Hasdeo Arand coalfields was over 160 kilometer away. The Central Mine Planning & Design Institute identified new sites near the villages of Kedarpur, Talangau, Salka and Khameria. The state government then confirmed the availability of a site at Salka and Khameria villages. Akaltara Power Ltd, a PFC subsidiary, is the SPV for the UMPP.

Project monitor reported that automobile giant General Motors is expected to sign a MoU with Maharashtra government to set up a power train manufacturing facility near its Talegaon plant in Pune. The INR 1,200 crore unit will manufacture engines and gear boxes with a capacity of 2 lakh units per year.

Meanwhile, GM is scheduled to begin commercial operations at its new car manufacturing facility at Talegaon in September. Set up with an investment of INR 1,400 crore, the plant will manufacture 1,40,000 small cars including Chevrolet Spark. Trial production began in March this year.

As per the report, work on Talegaon plant began in late 2006 following an MoU signed with Maharashtra government in August that year. The Talegaon project is one of the largest Greenfield investments Maharashtra has attracted in recent history.

The report added that once Talegaon facility goes fully commercial, GM which began Indian operations in 1996 will have a total capacity of 2,25,000 cars per year. GM's only other manufacturing unit at Halol in Gujarat recently underwent an expansion in capacity from 65,000 cars to 85,000 cars per year.

BL reported that the Steamer Agents Association in Kochi port convened an urgent meeting to discuss issues pertaining to the shifting of long standing import boxes from the terminal to a private Container Freight Station to reduce congestion.

After discussions, the association has agreed to shift the import boxes, lying in the terminal for more than 7 days to the private CFS suggested by the terminal operator after making an agreement with the CFS operator on lines with the agreement made by shipping companies in other terminals.

According to the report, it was also agreed at the meeting to shift some of the boxes to the nearby Concor Yard in the Willingdon Island to ease the situation. However, all the expenses in the shifting of boxes will have to be borne by the consignee.

Meanwhile, the congestion has also affected the productivity of the terminal which is now at 50:55 moves a shift as against 120 moves.

Project today reported that the Union government's Central Sanctioning & Monitoring Committee under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission on August 19th 2008 granted INR 511 crore for Pune Municipal Corporation and INR 121 crore for Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

As per the report, PCMC has received a sanction of INR 37 crore for Alandi road, INR 269 crore for the Bus Rapid Transit System Phase I, INR 40 crore for BRTS pilot project and INR 165 crore for infrastructure projects for the upcoming Commonwealth Youth Games. Additionally the PCMC has also been sanctioned INR 121 crore for the implementation of sewage projects.

BL reported that with the prospects of India’s access to global nuclear reactor technology brightening, Westinghouse Electric Company, GE Hitachi, Areva and the Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom are among the frontrunners for new projects planned across the country.

State owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited cited the monopoly nuclear power generator has tentatively short listed these 4 major reactor manufacturers based on suitability of technical parameters for placement of orders that will form the first phase of the Center’s plan to build 40,000 MW of nuclear capacity by 2020.

NPCIL hopes to set up Nuclear Parks or reactor clusters for which 4 coastal sites have been identified across Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. These parks are being envisaged with a capacity of housing up to 8 reactors of 1,000 MW each at a single location. The orders would initially be placed for around 2 reactors of 1,000 MW at each of the locations following which more reactors could be added.

An official said that “The model would be on the lines of the Koodankulam project where two 1,000 MW reactors were initially set up and subsequently the site is being expanded to accommodate more reactors.”

Officials hinted at the preference for Russian and French reactor technology since the Indian Government has already been engaging.

It is reported that ABG International is planning to foray into cement industry by setting up cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 4.6 million tonne per annum in Gujarat.

The proposed cement plants to be set up under the subsidiary company ABG Cement would likely to be commissioned by 2010. ABG International is primarily into shipping business and is the first shipping company in the country to diversify into cement business.

BL reported that Kamdhenu Ispat has forayed into paint manufacturing and has set up its first plant with an initial investment of INR 30 crore at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. The company is entering the home decor sector with its luxury paint brand Colour Dreamz.

Mr Satish Kumar Agarwal chairman of Kamdhenu Ispat said that “We have strategically invested into paint segment with a view to harness the immense opportunity that the booming construction sector is offering. The project is being financed with a combination of bank credit and internal accruals.”

Mr Agarwal said that our company is targeting decorative or architectural segments of paint. The Indian paint industry is growing at the annual rate of around 18% to 2%. The company had also entered the housing sector earlier this year.

It is reported that Reliance Petroleum subsidiary of Reliance Industries will commence production at Jamnagar refinery by September 2008.

The testing process has started wherein various quantities of crude oil will be processed and petroleum products produced. Meanwhile, production would be increased gradually to reach full production capacity of 5,80,000 barrels per day by December 2008.

Livemint reported that set to play a much bigger role in Japanese auto major Suzuki Motor Corp's global operations, Maruti Suzuki India plans to export 0.2 million cars annually by 2010-11 to be led by international model A Star.

The company which had announced that it aimed to sell 1 million cars in the domestic market by the same time frame is also planning to introduce more fuel efficient next generation engines in three to 5 years time.

Mr Shinzo Nakanishi MD & CEO of Maruti Suzuki India said that "When we exported about 53,000 cars in 2007-08 that was the highest ever in our history. But we now want to take it to 200,000 cars annually by 2010-11." He added that the company's effort would be led by Suzuki's fifth World Strategic model A-Star which will be manufactured exclusively by Maruti Suzuki.

Mr Nakanishi said that "It will be exported mainly to Europe but also to other markets in the world. He added that while Europe is important, we need not be confined to it. Suzuki operations in South Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa can also gain from the experience and expertise of Maruti Suzuki."

He said by focussing on India alone, MSI had become a major contributor to Suzuki's global turnover and profit and it was time for the company to strive for the next level. He said that "Let us now channels it to the next level, where we become the exclusive base to manufacture small cars for Europe. The A-Star model will become a reality."

Shri Lalu Prasad minister of Railways has congratulated Shri Sushil Kumar who won Bronze Medal in the Men’s Freestyle 66 Kilogram class Wrestling at the Olympics 2008 in Beijing. Shri Lalu Prasad said that Shri Sushil Kumar being the first ever Railway man winning an Olympic medal has brought glory to India and to Indian Railways in particular.

On this remarkable achievement, the minister has rewarded Shri Sushil Kumar with a promotion to the post of Assistant Commercial Manager from his present post as Chief Ticket Inspector, Delhi division, Northern Railway and also announced a cash prize of INR 5.5 million to him.

BL reported that union government has approved the proposal of the Cochin Shipyard for the creation of a Small Ship Division in the yard. The project to be set up at an investment of INR 98 crore is expected to be completed by mid 2009.

Cochin Shipyard said that equipment required for the project has already arrived and on completion, it would help the shipyard to undertake concurrent construction of small commercial ships with the aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy, which is at present under construction.

My Iris reported that a meeting of the board of directors of BCC Finance will be held on August 29th 2008 to consider the cessation of the existing coal business.

As per report, the board will also consider, approve and take on record the audited financial results for the financial year 2007-08.

The report added that the company registered a 70.46% growth in net profits to INR 4.04 million for the quarter ended in June 2008 from a profit of INR 2.37 million for the quarter ended in June 2007.

The report further added that net sales increased 2.47 times to INR 37.62 million for the quarter ended June 2008 from INR 15.25 million for the quarter ended June 2007.

It is reported that ABG Shipyard proposes to set up a Greenfield shipyard at Hazira near its present facility entailing an investment of INR 1,200 crore. The new shipyard is expected to be operational in 3 years.

Mr Dhananjay Datar ABG Shipyard official said that the proposed shipyard will cover 300 acres and will be the largest of its 2 other existing facilities at Surat and Dahej in Gujarat. He said that "The new shipyard will cater to larger ships and offshore vessels. It will have a capacity of building 6 to 8 ships a year."

AS per report, the company hopes the new shipyard will generate revenues of over INR 2,000 crore a year.

BS reported that GMR group plans to offload 5% to 10% equity in its energy business to increase INR 2,600 crore to fund the completion of its power plant projects.

GMR Energy quoted the power generation subsidiary has already initiated talks with a slew of investors for private placement of the equity. The decision to offload the stake comes after the company reportedly deferred its earlier fund raising plan of offering shares to the public after the stock market slump.

Highly placed sources said that “GMR Energy has already earmarked INR 13,000 crore worth investments for building about 3,300 MW power generation capacity in the country. About 80% of the investment will be funded through debt while the rest will come through private placement of 5% to 10% equity.”

GMR which has 800 MW power capacity under construction is building a 1,050 MW coal fired plant each at Kamalanga, Orissa and Chattisgarh and a 300 MW hydel project in Badrinath, Uttaranchal. Its 160 MW and 180 MW hydel projects are coming up at Talong in Arunachal Pradesh and Bajoli Holi in Himachal Pradesh respectively. In Nepal, the company is setting up 550 MW hydel capacity. Additionally, the company had proposed to build a 1,980 MW imported coal based power plant in Maharashtra.

The group which recently acquired 50% stake in Netherlands based power firm InterGen is scouting for acquisition of 3 more power assets abroad. Last year, the company failed in its attempt to acquire Tuas Power in Singapore. For fuel security, the company has picked up 10% stake in Homeland Mining and Energy, a South African subsidiary of the Canada based Homeland Energy Group for USD 15 million. The company is now planning to increase its stake to 50% which will require a USD 155 million investment. It is also looking at opportunities in Indonesia and Mozambique, besides South Africa.

Since mine acquisitions are not easy to come by, the company does not want to lose any opportunity even though credit markets are tight and interest rates are high. GMR Energy may look at the refinancing option later but for now are not averse to dilute promoter's stake. They might later come up with a public issue too but with the sluggishness in markets at the moment, the management does not deem that fit.

GMR is looking at expansion in the home markets too with huge capacity addition being planned in power generation in the 11th five year plan to the tune of 78,000 MW, the total investment is pegged at USD 100 billion in the sector by 2012. There are opportunities for the private sector participation. As the per capita consumption of power is around 1 KW hour per year for India is very low at a total capacity of 1,35,000 MW currently.

World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the International Iron and Steel Institute was 117.2 million tonnes in July 2008 up by 6.2% YoY. In July 2008, the world moving annual total growth rate stayed at 5.8%, unchanged for the last four months.

Total world crude steel production was 815.1 million tonnes in the first seven months of 2008, a 6.1% YoY increase over the same period in 2007.

Region wise