Indian domestic steel prices for long products remained weak on September 2nd 2008.

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It is reported that Mr Ram Vilas Paswan steel minister and Dr Raman Singh CM of Chhattisgarh jointly laid the foundation stone for National Mineral Development Corp’s INR 120 billion integrated steel plant in Nagarnar village of Bastar district.

Mr Paswan said that "It is a very ambitious project. NMDC will complete the construction work within 36th months so that production would begin by August 2011.”

The plant will have an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes. NMDC formally signed a MoU with the Chhattisgarh government to set up the project at the site. NMDC has 3 massive iron ore mining sites in the Bailadila hills of Dantewada district from where it excavates 20.5 million tonnes of its total annual production of 27 million tonnes.

Nagarnar is one of the 4 villages along with Kasturi, Amagura and Maganpur where NMDC has already acquired 403 hectares in 2001 from 303 farmers for setting up a steel plant based on Romelt technology that is used for extracting iron from iron-bearing wastes from mines.

As per report, even the foundation stone for the project was laid in September 2003 by the then Mr LK Advani deputy prime minister at Nagarnar. But the project was deadlocked as NMDC’s foreign collaborator, Moscow Institute for Steel and Alloys refused to provide the Romelt technology.

India’s largest integrated private power company TATA Power Company Limited announced its decision to acquire, either by itself or through one or more of its subsidiaries in India or abroad, 29.4 million Ordinary Shares of Geodynamics Ltd, a listed Australia based organization specializing in geothermal energy and Enhanced Geothermal Systems, representing 11.4% of the current issued Share Capital, equivalent to 10% of the increased Share Capital after allotment by Geodynamics.

The Shares will be acquired by Tata Power at an issued price of AUD 1.50 per share, entailing a total investment of AUD 44.1 million in absolute terms.

As part of the investment, Tata Power will also get a directorship on the Board of Geodynamics. In addition to the cornerstone investment above, the companies have agreed to review the potential of geothermal prospects outside Australia by leveraging the companies’ respective strengths. Further, this alliance also helps in securing a foothold in the growing renewable energy market in Australia.

Geodynamics is the industry leader in EGS with a market capitalization in excess of AUD 350 million. Geodynamics has geothermal exploration interests in 3 Australian states including the license for exploring 2000 sq. km of area in the Cooper Basin. Geodynamics tenements in the Cooper Basin contain the hottest granites on earth and are estimated to provide a thermal resource equivalent of 50 billion barrels of oil.

Mr Prasad Menon MD of TATA Power said “We are happy to have decided to purchase a stake in Geodynamics. This strategic partnership not only strengthens our renewable portfolio but also creates opportunities to get a foothold in the growing renewable energy Market in Australia. We look forward to the synergistic opportunities that the alliance presents us.”

With reference to the earlier announcement dated August 11th 2008, National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd has informed BSE that a Joint Venture Agreement has been signed on September 3rd 2008 amongst NTPC Ltd, NHPC Ltd, Power Finance Corporation Ltd and TATA Consultancy Services Ltd for incorporation of a Joint venture Company to set up and operate a Power Exchange at national level. It shall be registered as a Public Limited Company.

Indian specialty steel maker Mukand Ltd announced that it has entered into a JV with Vini Iron & Steel Udyog for captive mining of coal block in the eastern state of Jharkhand.

Mukand and Vini Iron will share mine production in the ratio of 59 to 41 respectively.

Livemint reported that Mr Ratan Tata chairman of TATA Group has been awarded by the UK India Business Council for his significant contribution to Indo British business partnership.

Mr S Anwar Hasan MD of TATA Limited received the award on behalf of TATA from British High Commissioner to India, Sir Richard Stagg at a Gala Dinner organized to celebrate the first anniversary of the UK India Business Council on Monday night.

Sir Stagg lauded Mr Ratan Tata’s contribution to the UK economy by employing 50,000 people since he acquired the Corus Group, an Anglo Dutch steel and aluminum producer and the Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor company.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for Revival/Restructuring of Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited in Ranchi.

As per release, the company has been sick for a long time. It has started earning profit from 2006-07. With the approval of revival package, the profitability will be sustained and Company will be able to execute long pending orders and move forward towards better performance.

It is reported that Neyveli Lignite Corporation is planning an investment of INR 45,000 crore in India and overseas.

As per report, Neyveli Lignite’s investments include

1. Setting up power plant at Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu including setting up of a jetty for receiving coal in association with the Chennai Port Trust.

2. It has further planned an open cast lignite mine of 2.25 million tonnes per annum capacity in Bithnok village of Bikaner district in Rajasthan

3. Lignite based power station of 1,000 MW capacity in Gujarat under a JV between NLC and Gujarat Power Corporation

4. Lignite based power station of 1,000 MW capacity in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu

5. Open cast lignite mine of 13.5 million tonnes per annum capacity near Jayamkondam in Tamilnadu

6. Lignite based power station of 1,600 MW capacity near Jayamkondam in Tamilnadu

7. Coal based thermal power station of 2,000 MW capacity in Talcher in Orissa

8. Coal based thermal power station of 1,000 MW capacity in Madhya Pradesh as a JV between NLC and Northern Coalfields

9. Coal based thermal power station of 2,000 MW capacity in Uttar Pradesh as a JV between NLC and UP Power Corporation.

As per report, NLC may also consider a JV proposal to own a coal mine in Africa and Indonesia to ensure adequate availability of coal for its expansion projects. The company will also explore option of a JV proposal for owning a lignite mine in Africa along with setting up of power plant.

It is reported that despite problems at Singur TATA Motors is doing everything possible to launch INR one lakh car Nano as per schedule.

Mr Ratan Tata chairman of TATA Group at the 48th SIAM Annual Convention 2008 said that "Obviously, we are a company which wants to launch Nano as planned. We will try to do everything possible to launch Nano as planned.”

He added that it is however not clear if the first lot of Nano would roll out from Singur or an alternate location, plans for which are under consideration of TATA Motors.

Asked if customers would be able to buy Nano by October, Mr Tata said that "The question needs to be asked not to me but to others."

ET reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals will set up a Greenfield project for manufacturing locomotives. It is already in talks with global majors such as French train maker Alstom, German rail transit solutions firm Bombardier Transportation GmbH, Siemens AG and American firm General Electric for forming a JV. BHEL proposes to offer 49% equity to its partner in the new venture. The project will start with an initial investment of INR 1,000 crore.

A Bhel official confirmed that “This project will be a new venture. We have a board meeting on September 17th where the issue of offering 49% stake in the JV will be discussed. We’re already in talks with some international players and will announce the JV by end of this month.”

As per report, the company has identified 2 locations, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Vizag in Andhra Pradesh to set up the project. The move comes after Indian Railways invited bids to procure 660 electric locomotives at an estimated cost of INR 25,000 crore. BHEL is looking to tie up with a foreign locomotive maker to set up an electric locomotive factory in Madhepura in Bihar.

Mr Ravi Kumar CMD of BHEL confirmed the development. He, however, refused to divulge the details. He said that “We’re looking to set up a Greenfield loco component project, but we haven’t yet finalized our other partner or the investment details. We’re also looking for partners in Madhepura project and plan to pick up some equity in it.” The company is already into manufacturing of diesel and electricity locomotives at its plant in Jhansi and has an annual capacity to make around 50 engines.

BL reported that Dr AK Chanda chairman of Kolkata Port Trust has taken over as the new Chairman of Indian Ports Association, the body of all major ports in the country.

Dr Chanda succeeds Ms Rani Jadav chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust, who retired from the service in June this year.

The Chairmanship of IPA thus goes to Kolkata Port Trust after 12 years. Dr Bikram Sarkar was the last Kolkata Port Trust Chairman to become the IPA Chairman in 1996 for a brief period of a few months.

It is reported that India's exports increased by 31.2% in July but the country's total import bill soared by 48.1% on the back of huge rise in crude oil imports.

According to official figures released Exports, grew to USD 16.34 billion while imports up by USD 27.14 billion leaving a trade deficit of USD 10.79 billion in July. On the back of increase in global prices, the crude oil import bill in July shot up by 69.3% to USD 9.48 billion from USD 5.6 billion a year ago. With crude oil reaching a record high of USD 147 per barrel in July.

The country had spent USD 5.6 billion on import of crude oil in July 2007-08. The oil imports showed an increase of 54.9% to USD 35 billion for the April to July 2008 period against USD 22.59 billion for the first 4th months of previous year.

The crude oil touched a record of 147.27 dollar per barrel on July 11 before declining. It was ruling at 116.3 dollar per barrel on Monday.

Thanks to the runaway rise in crude oil imports, India's total import bill shot up by 48.1% to 27.14 billion dollars in July. The rise in imports had a bearing on the country's trade deficit which widened to 10.7 billion dollars in July.

For the April to July 2008 period, exports showed a growth of 24.6% rising to 59.19 billion dollars while imports crossed the 100 billion dollar figure in first 4th months of the current fiscal.

My Iris reported that Larsen & Toubro is planning to foray into new construction segments including solar power and underground structure. The construction division of the company is also planning to recruit 3,000 to 5,000 people including fresher in the next few years.

As per report, L&T recently entered into construction of sea ports, airports and power plants. It has plans to build ultra mega power plants in the next 5 years.

The report added that L&T Construction division project order is growing at 30% to 35% year on year. The current order book size is about INR 360 billion which will be executed in the next 2 years.

ET reported that L&T Infotech a wholly owned subsidiary of technology, engineering and manufacturing leader Larsen & Toubro has appointed Mr Sudip Banerjee as its CEO effective September 1st.

Mr Banerjee is expected to drive the IT major’s ambitious growth plans, add strategic depth to its wide ranging offerings and secure greater traction from its unique ‘business-to-IT’ connect.

Mr Banerjee joins L&T Infotech from Wipro Technologies where he was President, Enterprise Solutions, the largest business division of the company. Under his stewardship, the division had recorded impressive revenue growth and expanded its services portfolio across a number of industry verticals and horizontals. He had also led the acquisition of 2 overseas companies.

My Iris reported that TATA Motors unveiled the electric versions of passenger car ‘Indica’ and commercial vehicle ‘Ace’ in Norway.

The company has indicated that the electric Indica would be launched locally in about 2 years without disclosing the price.

As per report, the vehicle would be launched in Norway next year. The company said that Norway has the necessary infrastructure in place to run electric cars.

The vehicles run on lithium batteries that were co developed by a Norwegian alternative fuel company and TATA Motor’s research facility in the UK.

It is reported that Indian Oil Corporation is planning a combination of domestic and international borrowings to finance its proposed INR 30,000 crore Paradeep refinery in Orissa.

As per report, the company will raise INR 14,000 crore from a consortium of 22 to 24 banks with SBI Caps acting as lead facilitator. Another INR 4,000 crore will be mopped up through the external commercial borrowing route and another INR 12,000 crore will be invested by IOC as equity. Financial closure for the project is expected to be achieved by end 2008.

Mr Thiru TR Baalu Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways has approved a sum of INR 176.37 crore for road improvement works under Central Road Fund Scheme. This amount would be spent on 34 different stretches of State Highways and Major District Roads in various districts in the state of Maharashtra. Out of these 34 stretches, 15 stretches are from the naxalite affected area.

Some of the major projects out of these 34 projects are:

1. An amount of INR 326.6 million has been approved in the district of Gondia.

2. An amount of INR 469.0 million has been approved in the district of Gadchiroli.

3. An amount of INR 102.8 million has been approved in in the district of Sindhudurg.

4. An amount of INR 75.0 million has been approved in Nasik.

5. An amount of INR 75.0 million has been approved in Dhule.

6. An amount of INR 89.6 million has been approved in Kolhapur.

7. An amount of INR 71.0 million ahs been approved in Thane.

8. An amount of INR 68.3 million has been approved in Ratnagiri.

9. An amount of INR 60.0 million has been approved in Chandrapur.

10. An amount of INR 50.0 million has been approved in Amravati.

11. An amount of INR 50.0 million has been approved in Yavatmal.

The other Districts where the road improvement works have been sanctioned include Pune, Latur, Raugadm Bhandara, Satara, Nagpur, Solapur, Nanded and Sangli.

ET reported that Hindustan Motors cited it would review the prices of its products in the next 2 months.

It is learnt that they have already passed on some cost to consumers and next 6 to 8 weeks are critical in terms of price hike.

During the quarter ended June 2008, the loss of Hindustan Motors decreased to INR 83.60 million compared with a loss of INR 91.50 million in the same quarter previous year. Net sales up by 34.61% to INR 1,887.20 million for the quarter ended June 2008 from INR 1,402 million for the quarter ended June 2007.

Project today reported that Mr Parkash Singh Badal CM of Punjab on September 3rd 2008 laid the foundation stone for Punjab State Electricity Board's 1,980 MW Talwandi Sabo thermal power plant at Banwala in Mansa district of Punjab.

As per report, the project to be spread over 2,112 acres will be implemented by Sterlite Energy BOO basis at an estimated cost of INR 9,000 crore. The proposed power plant alone will meet 30% of the current power shortage in the state and is scheduled to start generation in 2012.

It is reported that Mr Vasundhara Raje CM of Rajasthan on September 3rd 2008 laid the foundation stone for Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam's 2 X 600 MW Kali Sindh coal based power unit near Kali Sindh River in Jhalawar district of Rajasthan.

As per report, the total cost of the power plant is estimated at around INR 5,500 crore and will be implemented in two phases. The commissioning of two units of 600 MW each of the power plant is expected by January 2012.

Livemint reported that Warburg Pincus Llc has invested around INR 150 crore for a 30% stake in India’s deepest port located at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh on the country’s eastern coast.

The INR 1,700 crore first phase of the new private port located just 15 kilometer away from the Union government owned Visakhapatnam port, started so called trial operations in August. It will be formally inaugurated in the first week of October and have the capacity to handle 35 million tonnes of coal, iron ore, other bulk and general cargo a year.

The port has a water depth of up to 20 meter deeper than any other port in the country that will help it handle large bulk carriers with a cargo carrying capacity of up to 200,000 tonnes. Besides, the cargo handling facilities at Gangavaram are fully mechanized unlike many ports where loading and unloading is done manually.

Gangavaram Port Limited a company promoted by Mr DVS Raju won the deal from the Andhra Pradesh government to develop and operate the new port for 30 years beginning 2006.

A consortium of 13 banks led by State Bank of India has lent INR 1,200 crore to Gangavaram port for funding the phase 1 development of the project. The equity of around INR 500 crore has been contributed by Mr Raju the government of Andhra Pradesh and Warburg Pincus.

TOI reported that GMR group is the latest corporate making a beeline to exploit India's vast reserves of black diamond to produce liquid gold through CTL technology. The group has asked the government for allocation of coal acreage and arrived at a broad understanding with German technology and engineering firm Lurgi for the project.

GMR is the fourth major Indian corporate to join the CTL bandwagon after the TATA group, Mr Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries Limited and Mr Naveen Jindal led Jindal Steel and Power Limited. Though details of GMR's investment plans were not known a back of the envelope calculation indicates an investment of INR 30,000 crore to 40,000 crore for a project designed to extract 80,000 barrels per day of oil by synthesizing coal considered the optimum size for India.

The corporate rush for CTL projects has been spurred by changes made some time back in the Coal Mines Act of 1973 that said coal mining for synthesizing oil and gas would be considered as end use and would thus be open to private entities under captive mining norms. The high oil prices have only made such ventures more attractive.

GMR proposes to use the low temperature Fischer Tropch technology developed by Lurgi in partnership with Petro SA of South Africa and Norway's Statoil. In a recent ice breaker to junior coal minister Mr Santosh Bagrodia, Lurgi managing director Mr Horst A Kalfa said that diesel "should be the targetted product for the Indian CTL initiative". During discussion with GMR, Lurgi has projected production of a million tonne of transport fuel from six million tonne of Indian ash given its low grade and high ash content of around 35%.

BL reported that TATA Bluescope Steel is promoting the concept of Smart Build.

Mr Vikas Pundir GM of marketing said that a 250 square meter steel framed house will be assembled by a team of 3 professionals in exactly a week. The entire structure including the nut and bolt, plus the assembly team and the steel tiles are being offered out of TATA BlueScope Steel’s Chennai facility.

Mr Pundir said that the ‘Smart Build’ concept focuses on quick to install, environment friendly and lighter structural weight offerings with colour options. It is typically fit for small cottages, homes and farm houses among others.

TATA BlueScope a 50:50 JV between TATA Steel and BlueScope Steel of Australia on Thursday launched a series of steel products for the construction sector, signalling its entry into the retail market.

Mr Pundir said that under the brand name Durashine these colour coated steel building products include those made for the roofing and wall. Tiles will be launched in 3 months and the offering will be expanded.

As per report, TATA BlueScope will use the distribution network of TATA Steel through the TATA Shaktee outlets to promote these products. The products are also sourced from BlueScope’s Thailand facility INR 1,500 crore investment

The JV, however, has invested up by INR 1,500 crore in a large plant with a capacity of 2,50,000 tonnes a year of metal coatings at Jamshedpur.

Mr Sureet Chatterjee Chief of Marketing & Business Development said that the plant will start production by the end of 2009 or early 2010. He added that with plants in Pune, Bhiwadi and Chennai the company is expected to log INR 500 crore turnover this fiscal.

Financial express reported that India's external debt up by 30.4% to touch USD 221.21 billion in fiscal 2007-08 as high interest rates in the country drove corporates to raise funds from abroad.

A status report on India's External Debt released by the Finance Ministry stated that rise in short term debt particularly due to increasing oil imports and dollar depreciation during the year contributed to the surge in the external debt.

While funds raised by India Inc abroad called External Commercial Borrowings contributed 28% of the total debt short term debt constituted 20% of the total debt. Weakening of dollar against major currencies contributed almost 20% of the total amount India owes to the world.

As per report, ECB up by 49% to touch USD 62.02 billion as on March 31st 2008 from USD 41.66 billion a year ago.

The report said that "The increase in ECBs can be attributed to the larger borrowings from international capital markets by Indian corporates encouraged by the persistence interest rate wedge between domestic and international interest rates."

The report added that interest rates have been rising in India as the Reserve Bank has been tightening money supply to control the runaway inflation, forcing banks to up their lending rates including those to corporates. Short term debt up by 68% to touch 44.31 billion dollars mainly due to larger trade credits owing to higher imports during the year particularly oil imports. However, the total debt rose less by 19.6% in rupee terms due to the appreciation of Indian currency against the dollar.

Reuters reported that India's annual inflation rate is expected to have inched up in the third week of August driven by higher prices of some commodities and demand pressures in Asia's third biggest economy.

As per report, the wholesale price index was forecast by 10 economists to have risen 12.44% in the 12th months to August 23rd a shade higher than 12.4% a week earlier. The inflation rate was 12.63% in early August which was the highest reading since annual numbers in the current data series first became available in April 1995.

Ms Sonal Varma an economist with Lehman Brothers said that higher prices of tea, sugar, textile products, non ferrous metals, machinery and tools and paper products would have pushed inflation higher. Prices of cotton, rubber, edible oil and pulses would have fallen.
The data is due around 6 p.m. on Thursday. Reserve Bank of India has aggressively tightened policy since June to calm inflation.

In July, the Reserve Bank of India raised its key lending rate by 50 basis points to 9% and also increased banks' reserve requirements, and said it aimed to bring inflation down to 7% by the end of March.

The government said that inflation could hit 13% before moderating from December and settle at 8% to 9% by the end of the fiscal year in March.

A slide in prices of oil, India's biggest import to around USD 107 a barrel from a record high above USD 147 in mid July is expected to ease the pressure on inflation. The wholesale price index is more closely watched than the consumer price index because it includes more products and is also published weekly.

It is reported that Ashapura Minechem has found a new partner in Gujarat based Adani Group for its mega aluminium project in Gujarat. The INR 10,000 crore project came to a standstill after the proposed partnership with China's Qingtongxia Aluminium Group failed to materialise.

It is learnt that Adani and Ashapura will equally own the JV. Adani Group will supply power to the energy intensive aluminium project through its 1,000 MW Mundra power project.

The project aims to set up facilities of producing 1 million tonnes of alumina in phase-I followed by a 0.5 million tonnes per annum aluminium smelter in the next. Ashapura has bauxite mines in Gujarat and has already applied to state mining company Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation for additional 2.5 million tonnes per annum of bauxite.

Bauxite is the raw material for the production of aluminium with alumina being the intermediate product. 3 tonnes of bauxite are refined into 1 tonne of alumina which in turn is smelted to produce half a tonne of aluminium metal.

ProjectsToday reported that Hutatma Kisan Ahir SSK has cancelled the tender for the 18 MW bagasse based cogeneration project in Sangli district of Maharashtra owing to financial crisis. The company plans to reinvite bids by August 2009.

The scope of work as per the tender invited in March 2008 included design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of new boilers and turbo generators for the power plant. The INR 80 crore project will be funded through the National Sugar Cooperative Factory, other entities and state government and equity shares

Hutatma Kisan Ahir SSK has received state and Central government approval for the power unit, though the contractor and supplier are yet to be finalized. The cogeneration project is a part of the company's 2,250 trillion cubic per day sugar expansion project. Out of the planned 18 MW capacity, the company plans to sell 10 MW to Maharashtra State Electricity Board and use the remaining 8 MW for captive purpose. The project will also include a 30 kilo liter per day distillery plant at a later date.

Financial express reported that Jindal Rail Infrastructure Limited a fully owned subsidiary of Jindal Saw Limited has planned an investment of INR 350 crore for setting up a freight wagon manufacturing unit at Vadodara in Gujarat.

In phase-I, bogies will be imported and wheels will be procured from the Railways' wheel manufacturing unit in Bangalore to produce 2,000 units. In phase-II, the casting of the wagons will be done at the facility itself and 4,500 units will be rolled out.

By 2012, in phase-III of expansion, the company plans to invest INR 1,100 crore to increase production to 7,000 units. The plant will become a fully integrated one with foundries and a wheel assembly unit.

SNS reported that National Thermal Power Corportion Kaniha is once again in the grip of a coal shortage and is running on day to day basis without being able to build up adequate coal stock largely due to coal drawl or transport related problems.

Reliable sources said that the chairman of both NTPC and CIL held an emergent discussion over the crisis. It may be noted that last summer, the power plant slipped dangerously to a ‘super critical’ stage having less than 10,0000 tonne of coal in its stock yard just to feed the plant for a day in case of emergency.

Due to efforts of Mahanadi Coalfield Limited and NTPC officials the stock level rose to more than 70,0000 tonne in the succeeding months. But from May this year once again the coal stock reserves dropped due to transport related problems.

NTPC official said that 1 unit which is under annual maintenance will be back to on steam within a week, the shortage situation will be extremely acute when all the six units will be on generation.

The power plant which needs an average of 45000 tonnes coal would be requiring more than 55000 tonnes of coal per day for total 6 units.

MCL sources said that it has a huge coal stock of about 9 million tonnes at its stockyards and NTPC can lift its requirement to run the plant and build up the stock. Apparently the problem lies in rakes and transporting via the merry go round link system.

Reliable sources said that compounding to this is the fact that the quota of imported coal which is received by the power plant has not come as yet. The coal stock position needs to be maintained at least at a level of 15 days requirement.

Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs has downgraded the US steel sector to "neutral" from "attractive," saying that the near term concerns continue to weigh on investor sentiment.

It in a note to clients said that "Several of the typical risks to the steel cycle such as a rising US dollar, China fear and sharply falling scrap prices have shaken investor confidence in sustainability of steel cycle.”

Klöckner & Co SE, working through its Swiss subsidiary Debrunner Koenig Holding, completed the sale of Koenig Verbindungstechnik. As announced in July, the specialist in fastening systems has been acquired by the private equity company Capvis. The acquisition has already been approved by antitrust authorities.

KVT does business in the market of fastening systems and sealing plugs. As a result, it is not part of the core business of Klöckner & Co SE. The sale price was about EUR 325 million, producing a book gain after taxes of around EUR 265 million.

Dr Thomas Ludwig CEO of Klöckner & Co SE said that “After successfully directing the focus in North America to our core business, we have now continued this approach in Europe by selling KVT. With the funds produced by the transaction, we also gain further leeway for our expansion strategy.”

POSCO said that it is not discussing a new deal with Brazilian miner Vale on iron ore supply as its term deal remained in place.

A spokeswoman for POSCO said that "There have been no further talks since we completed our negotiations with Vale in February 2008 and the term contract that we signed for the period starting on April 1st 2008 remains intact."

Meanwhile, Vale said that it would not confirm market rumors after the trade journal Steel Business Briefing reported that the miner demanded Chinese customers pay an additional 20% for iron ore from September 1st 2008.

Vale had negotiated a price rise with term Asian customers of between 65% and 71%, depending on the grade of iron ore, for the year beginning April 1. But its deal was eclipsed by Australian rivals Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which wrung out bigger increases from Asian mills in later negotiations based on the added savings in freight from closer mines.

Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring & Analysis data, the American Iron & Steel Institute reported that steel import permit applications for the month of August 2008 totaled 2.363 million net tons. This was a 21% MoM decrease from the2.992 million permit tons recorded in July 2008 and a 17% decrease from the July preliminary imports total of 2.842 million net tons.

Import permit tonnage for finished steel in August 2008 was 1.922 million nee tons, a decrease of 12% from the preliminary imports total of 2.177 million net tons in July 2008.

For the first eight months of 2008 (including August SIMA and July preliminary), total steel imports were 21.136 million net tons, down by 11% YoY from the 23.636 million net tons imported in the first eight months of 2008. Total steel imports for 2008 would annualize at 31.7 million net tons or 5% below the 2007 12 month total.

For August 2008, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were
1. China with 490,000 net tons
2. South Korea with 193,000 net tons
3. Japan with 149,000 net tons
4. India with 66,000 net tons

Permit tonnage for Chinese steel increased by 55% in August 2008 as compared to China’s preliminary imports in July and were at the highest monthly level since June 2007.

Product categories that increased in August vs July 2008 preliminary include:
1. Hot Rolled Bars, up by 50%
2. Oil Country Goods, up by 6%

Products that showed a significant year to date increase vs 2007 include:
1. Oil Country Goods, up by 43%
2. Line Pipe, up by up 11%

Mr Andrew G Sharkey III president & CEO of AISI said that “Concerns remain about dumped and subsidized imports of certain products from certain countries, notwithstanding the decline in overall imports through June. One such concern is tubular products from China, which are continuing at high levels in the U.S. market and still receiving export tax rebates from the government of China.”

China Steel Corporation has set another single month sales record in August 2008, with its gross revenues reaching TWD 26.52 billion. The figure represented an increase of 2.29% MoM and a whopping growth of 50.71% YoY.

The monthly high for August also marked the seventh time in China Steel's history that its monthly sales surpassed TWD 20 billion. CSC’s total sales during the first eight months of 2008 amounted to TWD 176.84 billion.

CSC produced a total of 900,000 tonnes of steel products in August 2008, up by 20,000 metric tonnes over July 2008. Although its August sales totaled 870,000 tonnes, down by 20,000 tonnes from July 2008, its revenues increased by 2.29% as a result of steel price hikes in the world market during the third quarter of 2008.

ArcelorMittal Galati of Romania has doubled net profit to EUR 100 million in 2007 as compared to net result of some EUR 48 million in 2006.

According to consolidated financial results made public late last week by the ministry of economy & finance, ArcelorMittal Galati reported in 2007 a turnover worth EUR 2.1 billion, up by 23% YoY as against the previous year and net profit of some EUR 98.4 million, up by 106% YoY as compared to net profit reported in 2006.

The revenues grew up by 18% YoY to EUR 2.3 billion in 2007 from EUR 1.85 billion in 2006. At world level, the group reported in 2007 net profit worth EUR 7 billion, up by 30% YoY.

Profit of ArcelorMittal Galati in 2007 accounted for 1.4% from the result obtained at global level.

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• Address-723 entries
• Phone number-723 entries
• Fax number -590 entries
• Email -446 entries

Report Summary:
1. Published: Feb 2008
2. Format PDF File (Delivery by Email on receipt of payment)
3. Total no of pages – 396

Price: USD 1250 or equivalent in INR
(Additional Charges would be levied for delivery of file on a CD or in printed form)

You can order your copy to reports@steelguru.com

American Iron & Steel Industries reported that in the week ending August 30th 2008, US’s raw steel production was 2.08 million tons while the capability utilization rate was 87.5%. Production was 2.075 million tons in the week ending August 30th 2007, while the capability utilization then was 87.7%. The current week production represents a 0.6% YoY increase from the same period in 2007.

Production for the week ending August 30th 2008 is down by 1.8% WoW from the previous week ending August 23rd 2008 when production was 2.12 million tons and the rate of capability utilization was 89.1%.

Adjusted YTD production through August 30th 2008 was 73.47 million tons, at a capability utilization rate of 88.7%. That is a 2.5% YoY increase from the 71.71 million tons during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate was 86.1%.

District wise production for the week ending August 30th 2008

1. Northeast Coast: 190
2. Pittsburgh/Youngstown: 172
3. Lake Erie: 94
4. Detroit: 82
5. Indiana/Chicago: 529
6. Midwest: 257
7. Southern: 668
8. Western: 95
(In thousands of net tons)

AISI’s estimate is based on reports from companies representing about 75% of the US’s raw steel capability and includes revisions for previous months.

Britain's Sheffield Forgemasters has won a contract to produce nuclear grade steel components for Westinghouse AP1000 reactors and is considering it to make the largest reactor pressure vessels.

Sheffield Forgemasters will produce 18 of the 16 tonne pump casings under a contract from Curtiss Wright, which itself was contracted by Westinghouse to produce a total of 24 reactor coolant pumps in May 2008. The eventual pumps will be installed in Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized water reactors, with the first few already earmarked for the rapidly advancing Sanmen project in China.

Pressurized water reactors employ water as both a moderator to facilitate the nuclear reactions that release energy, and also as coolant to transport heat from the reactor to generate electricity. The water is kept under high pressure to prevent it boiling at temperatures of up to 330°C, and components in the plant's primary coolant loop must be made to the highest standard to ensure safety.

Sheffield Forgemasters has held the right to put the N stamp on its products for many years, the company produces major components for the UK military's Astute class nuclear powered submarines and has produced civil nuclear components in the past. It had a role in producing heavy forgings for Sizewell B, the UK's only PWR.

Currently Sheffield Forgemasters is considering the addition of a 15,000 tonne press, which would allow it to accept 500 tonne ingots. The machine, 50% more powerful than its largest existing press, would allow it to make reactor pressure vessels for reactors up to and including Areva's 1650 MWe EPR, the largest PWR currently on the market.

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.

“Directory of Construction Companies in India” is one of the top sources of information available on a construction companies in India. It is one of the most comprehensive and accurate directory of construction companies in India that ever published. This powerful directory is your connection to the entire construction companies in India.

Published in August 2008, “Directory of Construction Companies in India” has been comprehensively researched and prepared, to bring you a fully up to date guide to Indian Construction companies.

Whether you are a product manager, in charge of marketing, raw material seller, in equipment business or simply interested to remain in touch with the latest developments in the construction companies in India, this directory will save you time and effort in finding the information you need. This report will enable you to profile construction companies in India, build new business prospects, generate new customers, discover who your competitors are and make vital contacts. You would save the time, money and effort of doing your own research. This directory has been especially compiled to assist with market research, strategic planning, as well as contacting prospective clients or suppliers. It is also an indispensable guide to India’s construction sector.

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This report covers name and product details of 1000 Construction Companies in India in alphabetical as well as location wise order. Look at the information you'll get in the 'Directory of Construction Companies in India’
1. Company name -1000 entries
2. Address-1000 entries
3. Phone number-951
4. Fax number -652 entries
5. Mobile number-349
6. Email -749 entries
7. URL – 593

Format - PDF File (Total no of pages – 545), delivery by Email on receipt of payment of USD 950 or equivalent in INR. Additional charges would be levied for delivery of file on a CD or in printed form

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It is reported that suppliers' hopes of renewed buying by automakers of steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, plastics and textiles in the second half were dashed when Ford Motor announced second half production cutbacks of 5% and projected industry wide sales around 14 million units, a 14% decline from 2007 sales.

Sales of Ford's trucks and more fuel efficient cars plunged in August 2008 far worse than forecast so year to date sales for the Dearborn, Mich., firm have fallen 16%.

Mr Jim Farley group vice president of marketing and communications said that Ford does not see any signs of a quick turnaround. He added that “We expect the second half of 2008 will be more challenging than the first half, as weak economic conditions and the consumer credit crunch continues.”

Ford has trimmed its forecast for full year industry wide sales in the US to the low end of its previously announced range of 14 million to 14.5 million. Auto experts are predicting that this will be the worst August for auto sales in 15 years. It would cut second half production plans by about 5%, trimming 20,000 vehicles in the third quarter and 30,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter.

It is reported that heavily armed men dressed as members of the Special Weapons & Tactics unit have robbed two steel firms housed in a compound in the industrial zone of Valenzuela City.

Mr Rainier Idio police chief of Valenzuela said that the robbers, who were armed with an M203 grenade launcher rifle, posed as policemen involved in a covert operation in the area. He added that “They were allowed to enter the compound in Lingunan because they identified themselves as policemen conducting an operation.”

He added that "Once inside, the robbers barged inside the Mayer Steel Corporation and Continental Steel Corporation. They destroyed t