Indian domestic steel prices for long products continued reversal trend on September 8th 2008, where as flat products dipped.

ILPPI – Indian Long Product Price Index
IFPPI – Indian Flat Product Price Index
INDSPI – Indian Steel Price Index

Long products

Flat products

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It is reported that Duncan Goenka group company, Stone India, is eyeing an acquisition in Europe to capture the European railway components market and is close to acquiring a controlling stake in an European firm manufacturing products for railways for about INR 200 crore.

Mr Amitava Mondal CEO of Stone India said that “We are trying to buy the company through the bidding process. A special purpose vehicle will be formed and registered at either Cyprus or Netherlands to buy the assets of the European firm.”

He said that “Apart from Stone India, a Duncan Goenka group investment firm will also pick up stake in the proposed SPV to be floated. Dresdner Bank, which has just been taken over by Commerzbank AG, may part finance the buyout if we clinch the deal.”

Mr Mondal added that “We have already crossed the first three stages of the bidding process before we were chosen for the last round. A final picture would emerge within a month’s time. In fact, we have been looking to acquire a global firms engaged in the railway components business primarily in East Europe, Switzerland and Europe without any success for various reasons.”

IANS reported that coal shortage has forced National Aluminum Co Ltd to cut back alumina production at its refinery in Orissa for about three days last week.

Mr PK Mohapatra ED of NALCO told IANS that "The refinery at Damanjodi did not receive any coal since Sep 1 this year from its main supplier Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. This led to a cut in alumina production as the company was forced to shut down one of its three operational boilers Thursday after its coal stock of about 10,000 tonnes got exhausted.”

He added that “Coal supply resumed Sunday and all three boilers are now operational but the alumina production lost due to last week's shut down is about 3,000 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes. We expect to recover this shortfall by the end of this month. We received two rakes of coal on Sunday and are expecting to receive one more rake o Monday. More coal is expected to arrive in the next few days.”

NALCO normally maintains a buffer stock of 40,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes in the Damanjodi unit but has been unable to do so recently due to inadequate supply. Over the last few months, coal shortage has been affecting alumina production at Nalco. In July this year, two of the three boilers at the Damanjodi refinery were shut down for about three days. In June, Nalco was forced to shut down one of the seven power units that feed its smelter at Angul due to lack of coal.

It is reported that JSW Steel Limited crude steel production output in August up by 7% YoY from a year ago to 0.34 million tonnes.

JSW in a press release said that flat rolled steel output up by 8% to 0.28 million tonnes while long rolled steel production up by 7% YoY to 28,000 tonnes.

It is reported that Mr LN Mittal is being conferred the third Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award which honors heroes of entrepreneurial capitalism and free enterprise.

Mr Mittal will get the award t at the Forbes Global CEO Conference being held in Singapore and expected to be attended by more than 450 business leaders with a combined net worth of more than 160 billion dollars from across the world.

Forbes sin a statement aid that "Mr Mittal will receive the third Malcolm S Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening dinner from Mr Steve Forbes chairman & CEO of Forbes and Editor in- chief of Forbes magazine.”

It added that the award honors heroes of entrepreneurial capitalism and those who embody and exemplify the ideals of free enterprise."

Earlier in March this year, Forbes had named Mr Mittal as fourth richest with a net worth of USD 45 billion in its annual ranking of the world's richest billionaires.

JSW Steel announced that during the month of August 2008, it has commissioned 2nd color coating line of 132,000 tonnes per annum at Tarapur works in Maharashtra

Steel tube & pipe industry in India consists of firms mainly engaged in manufacturing seamless or welded steel pipes or tubes or ferrous metal or pipes fitting. The building & construction industries along with the automotive industry and gas & oil sector are the major market place for tubes & pipe industry.

The use of steel tube in automotive industry has been on the increase since the beginning of 90's, especially in safety structures and safety related components of vehicles. Increase applications and high demand of steel tubes in automobile sector is due to its reliability, strength, corrosion resistance properties, high capacity of energy absorption, high safety of the construction and resistance against collision shocks, which successfully meet the requirement of advanced automotive industry.

Published in August 2008, 'Directory of Steel Tube Manufacturers In India' has been comprehensively researched and prepared, to bring you a fully up to date guide to Indian steel tube companies.

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Content
This report covers name and product details of 208 steel tube makers in India in alphabetical as well as location wise order. Look at the information you'll get in the 'Directory of Steel Tube Manufacturers In India'
Total Entries: 208
URL: 79
E Mail: 129
Phone: 207
Fax: 190
Mobile: 154
No of Pages: 119

Price: USD 350 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

Ranchi Express reported that Hindustan Copper Limited has finally been conferred the mini ratna status, thus paving the way for the revival of its sick units. After a prolonged shutdown, the management has finally decided to ignite the furnace on Monday to increase the smelting capacity of the plant.

As per report, it will now have a greater operational autonomy when it will come to the implementation of strategic objectives, leading to modernization. From now on the company board of directors can take decisions on investments of up to INR 500 crore.

Cement is the preferred building material in India and is used extensively in household and industrial construction. With the boost given by the government to various infrastructure projects, road network and housing facilities, growth in the cement consumption is anticipated in the coming year. The increase in infrastructure projects by the government coupled with the construction of the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South and East-West corridor projects have led to an increase in consumption of cement. This increase is expected to continue in the future. The reduction in import duties is not likely to affect the industry as the cement produced is at par with the international standards and the prices are lower than those prevailing in international markets.

Directory of Cement Manufactures of India is one of the top sources of information available on a Cement Manufactures in India. It is one of the most comprehensive and accurate directory of cement manufactures in India that ever published. This powerful directory is your connection to the entire cement companies in India.

Published in August 2008, 'Directory of Cement Manufactures of India ' has been comprehensively researched and prepared, to bring you a fully up to date guide to Indian Cement Manufactures 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 Cement Manufactures in India, this directory will save you time and effort in finding the information you need.

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Content
This report covers name and product details of 186 cement manufactures in India in alphabetical as well as location wise order. Look at the information you'll get in the 'Directory of Cement Manufactures of India’
• Company name – 186 entries
• Address-186 entries
• Phone number-185
• Mob number-10
• Fax number -174 entries
• Email -157 entries

Format
PDF File
Total no of pages – 107
Delivery by Email on receipt of payment

Price
USD 200
(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

It is reported that the board of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation has approved the extension of the metro project in Bangalore city.

The project will comprise two corridors east-west and north-south. The east-west corridor will be 18.1 kilometer in length and will start at Byappanahalli and terminate at Mysore Road. It will cover Indiranagar, CMH Road, Swamy Vivekananda Road, MG Road, Ambedkar Road, Post Office Road, KG Road, Majestic, KSRTC Bus Stand, Bangalore City Railway Station, Magadi Road, Tool Gate, Chord Road, Vijayanagar, Mysore Road up to Ring Road Junction.

The north-south corridor will start at Yeshwanthpur and terminate at Jayanagar. It will cover Chord Road, Mahakavi Kuvempu Junction, Swastik, Platform Road, KSRTC Bus Stand, Chickpet, City Market, KR Road, Vani Vilas Road, Lalbagh, RV Road, South End Circle and Jayanagar. While the main depot-cum-workshop for the east-west corridor is planned at Byappanahalli, for the north-south corridor, the depot is slated to be set up at Yeshwanthpur.

BMRCL expects to complete the Byappanahalli-Cricket Stadium by March 2010; Yeshwanthpur-Swastik by November 2010, underground section by October 2011, City Railway Station-Mysore Road section by October 2011 and City Market-R.V. Road Junction by December 2011.

It is reported that Oil & Natural Gas Corporation on September 6th 2008 formally commissioned a 50 MW wind power project on the coast of Jakhau some 125 kilometer from Bhuj in Kachchh district of Gujarat.

Under the proposed INR 300 crore project a total of 34 wind mills having power rating of 1.5 MW each have been installed along the coastal plains by the Suzlon Energy.

The reported added that these machines will supply power to ONGC's oil installations at Ankleshwar, Ahmedabad, Mahesana and Vadodara through the power grid of the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation.

Mr RS Sharma CMD of ONGC's who formally inaugurated the project said that “With the company becoming an integrated energy producer it was looking for more investments in the fast growing renewable energy sector and would look for continued association with Suzlon.”

Mr Rohit Modi president of Suzlon Energy Limited said that "This is a very important step for ONGC, one of the world's leading corporations in oil and gas. This investment is a clear validation of the importance of wind and renewable energy in powering the world of tomorrow."

My Iris reported that Dolphin Offshore Enterprises India received 2 orders worth INR 3.04 billion from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

As per report, the first contract for EUR 27.03 million is for NQD enhancement project which is expected to be completed by June 6th 2009. The second contract worth EUR 19.3 million plus INR 87.9 million is for ICP revamp project which is expected to be completed by December 31st 2009.

Dolphin Offshore said that this is the first time that the company has been awarded EPC contracts independently without the assistance tie up with any consortium partner. Shares of Dolphin Offshore were last trading up by INR 46.85 or 20% at INR 281. The total volume of shares traded at the BSE was 37,270.

IANS reported that Karnataka Power Corporation Limited signed an agreement with the Chhattisgarh government to set up a 1,200 MW thermal plant on an investment of INR.60 billion in Chhattisgarh. The plant will come up in the state’s northern region where India’s state owned coal producer South Eastern Coalfields Limited has its mines.

As per report, the first unit of the plant will be commissioned by October 2012. This is the first project being taken by the KPCL set up in 1970 outside Karnataka.

Under the pact, the Chhattisgarh government has ensured early allocation of land and coal linkage for KPCL under the state’s industrial policy.

Mr BS Yeddyurappa CM of Karnataka who was present during the signing of the deal between the 2 Bharatiya Janata Party ruled states described the project as a milestone in inter-state cooperation.

It is reported that Samco Machinery supplies the roll forming machines used by TATA Motors in India to build the chassis for the Nano. Samco entered into a USD 3 million contract to supply a TATA subsidiary with roll forming machines to make the Nano.

The roll formers created by Samco take steel coils and bend them into everything from car bumpers to metal roofing. Samco roll forming machines build the TATA Nano's chassis and make 6 parts of the car's undercarriage.

Mr Joseph P Repovs chairman & CEO of Samco Machinery visited India 2 years ago and met with TATA while he was there. TATA called Mr Repovs last year and asked Samco to bid on a contract for the cheapest car in the world.

Mr Repovs said that "Since 1972, Samco Machinery had the vision to be the world's leading roll forming systems manufacturer. There are 1.1 billion people in India and 1.3 billion in China. That's where the wealth is going to be created in the future. If you want to be part of that, you have to get over there. Rather than wait for the world to come to us, we decided we had to go out to the world."

Samco Machinery is realizing the benefits of globalization. A few years ago, 90% of business was with US customers. Today only 30% of Samco's business is with the US. Samco has machines in ten other countries including Britain, South Africa, Italy, Costa Rica and Finland. Samco also has plans to provide their roll forming design options to booming international business locations such as Dubai and Russia.

Samco recently opened a facility in New Delhi to better serve the market in India. Shelving, racking, steel stud and framing, purlins and automotive industries are growing quickly in India. Samco roll forming machines manufacture many products in India including the specialized equipment used by TATA Motors to produce the Nano.

Mr Thiru TR Baalu union shipping, road transport and highways minister inaugurated the Viralimalai Bypass on NH-45B in Tamil Nadu. Expressing satisfaction over the pace of various phases of National Highways Development Projects.

Mr Baalu said that the Central Government has given push to all the areas of infrastructure in the country. The highway sector, a vital component of infrastructure has grown phenomenally becoming the most preferred mode of transport.

Referring to various projects initiated by the Central Road Transport and Highways Ministry in Tamil Nadu, Mr Thiru Baalu said that the State has received the focus of attention of the Central Government in development of National Highways. Of the 4,508 kilometer length of National Highways in the state, 3,261 kilometers have been taken up by the NHAI for four laning under the National Highways Development Project and other projects.

He said that this would increase the level of service of road connectivity to the remote areas with important cities and places of religious, tourist, historical, agricultural and industrial importance and substantially enhance the traffic comfort and safety, save travel time and fuel consumption. The Golden Quadrilateral length of 342 kilometers under NHDP Phase-I in Tamil Nadu has also been upgraded to 4 lane facility.

BL reported that the small and micro enterprises in Coimbatore have demanded that the State government should stop power supply to MNCs and provide uninterrupted power supply to the local industrial units.

The Tamil Nadu government should supply diesel at subsidized rates to the industrial units which have captive power generation capacity and reimburse the loss incurred by them due to power generation.

Mr J James Coimbatore district president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage & Micro Enterprises said that the association members would close their units and take out a rally in the city on September 10th demanding uninterrupted power supply. The government should stop power supply to the MNCs and order them to use generators and ensure uninterrupted, full power supply to the local industrial units.

Mr James said that captive generators in the small and big industries in the State have the capacity to generate around 2,000 MW to 2,500 MW of power.

BL reported that TATA Motors’ electric version of Indica set to enter the domestic market in next 2 years is likely to be priced at an affordable rate for the mass market.

Dr Clive Hickman who heads a staff of over 3,000 employees at TATA Motors Research and Development division in India and the UK said that “I don’t think the present companies launching electric cars have an understanding of the market dynamics. We will price the car which will be affordable for the mass market.”

Talking to Business Line on the sidelines of the SIAM annual convention, Dr Hickman said that if there were economies of scale, the cost of production of the model could be brought down significantly. He added that the pricing of electric cars depended on the extent to which the parts could be made in India.

It is reported that the State Trading Corporation of India Limited and MMTC Limited have made contributed crore towards PM National Relief Fund for the welfare of those devastated by unprecedented floods in Bihar.

The cheque for INR 1 was presented by Dr Arvind Pandalai CMD of STC to Mr Kamal Nath Union Minister of Commerce and Industry here on September 4th2008.

Also, a cheque for INR 50 million was handed over by Mr Sanjiv Batra CMD of MMTC to the Commerce and Industry Minister to PM National Relief Fund for the same cause.

Millions of people in Bihar have been rendered homeless and scores washed away in the worst catastrophic flood in last 50 years. It is reported that 16 out of 37 districts of Bihar are submerged in water and the flood affected victims are suffering for want of basic necessities for their survival.

According to the Mercantile Marine Department, Kochi the inspections on vessels carried out are in accordance with the Indian Merchant Shipping Act 1958 and Rules in conformity with the relevant international rules and regulations, the objective being to curb the operation of un-seaworthy vessels posing threat to the Indian ports and coastal waters.

Mr MP John principal officer of MMD in Kochi has clarified that any deficiencies or defects observed during the inspection are given in writing immediately to the master or owners of the vessels for rectification. The copies of such reports are also forwarded to the DG of Shipping Mumbai respective Classification Societies, Owners, Flag States, Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding and International Maritime Organization. The system is so transparent that the master, owners or affected parties are free to challenge the recommendations of MMD. Besides, there is a provision for compensation to the party incurring loss if the recommendation is found to be wrong.

He said that there has not been any incident at Kochi where any recommendation raised by MMD on any ship which was inspected, challenged by the affected parties, nor has there been any occasion for any recommendation going wrong. In August, MMD inspected 6 ships under Port State Control and two were detained as they were found sub standard and un seaworthy.

The authorities issuing the certificates to the ships were advised to carryout detailed inspection of these ships. It is understood that their certifying authorities have found more and more serious deficiencies during their inspections, warranting the actions taken by MMD.

The first phase of the proposed 2,000 MW pithead thermal power plant to be set up by Karnataka at Janjgir in Champa district in Chhattisgarh will get the status of 'mega power project' with Karnataka deciding to increase the capacity of the first phase to 1,200 MW from the present 1,000 MW.

Such a decision to increase the capacity has been taken to get tax benefits for the project as a mega power project will get concessions in excise and import duty. This is expected to reduce the cost of the project by 12% to 15% which will further reduce the cost of generation of power.

Now, the first phase of the project will have two generating units with a capacity of 600 MW each instead of the earlier plan to have two units with a capacity of 500 MW each. However, there is no change in the overall capacity of the project which will have two phases. The second phase will now have one generating unit with a capacity of 800 MW instead of the earlier plan to have two generating units with a capacity of 500 MW each.

An MoU between Karnataka and Chhattisgarh regarding the purpose is expected to be signed on September 8th 2008. The civil works of the INR 6,000 crore project, which is being implemented by the Karnataka Power Corporation, is likely to commence in about six months. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in about 48 months.

Punj Lloyd Limited has informed BSE that Punj Lloyd Pte Limited wholly owned subsidiary of the Company in Singapore has been awarded a contract by FWP JV Singapore to carry out select utilities mechanical works on Jurong Island of Singapore for a value of SGD 54 million.

FE reported that India's TATA Motors would not start work at the low cost Nano car site, where work was suspended last week until it was confident of smooth operations and the continued viability of the project.

TATA Motors Limited said that it was distressed at the limited clarity in the outcome of talks between the government of West Bengal, where the Nano plant is located and protestors who had caused disruptions.

TATA Motors in a statement said that "TATA Motors is obliged to continue the suspension of construction and commissioning work at the Nano plant.” It added that “We will review our position only if we are satisfied that the viability of the project is not being impinged, the integral nature of the plant and ancillary units are being maintained and all stakeholders are committed to developing a long term congenial environment for smooth operations of the plant."

Mr Ramnath S vice president of research at IDFC-SSKI Securities said that "The shares are getting a boost as it looks like the confusion is beginning to get cleared and a resolution will be arrived at soon. But if this drag on any further, there may be delays."

RTT News reported that Reliance Power sought allocation of an additional coal blocks adjacent to its existing blocks in Madhya Pradesh following an in principle nod by Indian government to utilize the excess coal from the blocks allotted for Sasan ultra mega power project.

An official from coal ministry in a statement said that RPower has recently expressed its willingness to take up a small block at Semaria, entry for which can be made through one of its blocks for Sasan. He added that the coal block had total reserves of around 100 million tonnes.

The release said that the project for which the company proposes to utilize the Semaria block could not, however, be ascertained over the weekend. Coal blocks are allotted with end-use condition on it.

As per report, Reliance has planned 13 power projects with a combined installed capacity of 28,200MW. Of these, 6 projects aggregating to 14,620 MW will be fired on coal.

ICSA India Limited has announced it has secured work orders for a total contract value of INR 236.14 crore from 2 power utilities Mahavitaran and MP Paschim Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited.

ICSA India Limited said that the INR 204.22 crore order from Mahavitran is for the construction and commissioning of sub transmission lines, power transformers, new substations, augmenting of existing substations, distribution transformers of varying capacities and allied works.

It said the second order worth INR 31.92 crore from MP Paschim Ksehtra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited is for the supply of material, survey, erection and installation and commissioning of 11 KV line and bays with VCB and metering.

Mr C Bala Reddy chairman & MD of ICSA India in a statement said that the growing order book position reinforces the company’s capabilities in the transmission and distribution sector.

BL reported that Adani Power Limited an Adani Enterprises company has received SEBI approval for the proposed INR 5,630 crore IPO.

While company officials as well as the issue managers are tightlipped about it sources close to the development told Business Line that the company’s IPO proposal received the go ahead on September 5th. The approval is valid for 90 days.

A formal announcement in this regard is expected once APL submits the issue schedules to SEBI in the next couple of days.

Sources, however, said that the company is aiming to open the issue preferably in mid November. The timing may be advanced depending on the market conditions.

In the draft red herring submitted to SEBI on May 1st this year, APL said that the IPO would part finance the company’s proposed 6 coal based thermal power projects in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan totaling 9900 MW at an estimated investment of INR 43,139 crore.

APL proposed to issue a total of 29.69 crore shares of INR 10 each accounting for 14.35% of the post issue paid up capital. Post issue, the controlling stake of Adani Enterprises will come down from 86.45% to 74.04%.

Of the 6 projects, the company is currently implementing the INR 19,106 crore 4620 MW mega project at Mundra. The project will be implemented in four phases beginning January to March quarter of 2009 to 2011.

As per report, phase I & II are of sub critical category and phase III and IV are of super critical category. APL has already awarded the EPC contracts and firm agreements for coal supplies from Adani group owned mines in Indonesia.
The report added that the company has already struck firm power purchase agreements with Gujarat Urja Vikash Nigam Limited and Haryana Government from the project. A 1000 kilometer transmission line is also being implemented for supply of power to Haryana.

Mr Gautam Adani chairman of Adani group said that the company is in an advanced stage of negotiation with the vendors to firm up the critical power equipment supplies for all other projects within next couple of months.

BL reported that GSPC-Adani combine seems to be making steady progress towards commissioning the proposed LNG terminal at Mundra. The company has received expression of interest from 13 parties from across the world for helping GSPC to tie up LNG supplies.

GSPC holds a controlling 50% stake in the JV. The Adani group has a participatory 25% stake.

Mr DJ Pandian MD of GSPC said that “We recently invited EoIs from interested parties to help us in tying up short, medium and long term LNG supplies at the proposed 5 million tonnes to 7.5 million tonnes LNG terminal, slated to be commissioned in 2012. The tender has received adequate response. A total of 13 parties expressed interest in the project.”

Mr Pandian said that EoI apart the company is also engaged in bilateral discussions with several global LNG suppliers. Refusing to divulge details of the negotiations, he said that the company was confident of securing the necessary LNG supplies at the proposed terminal.

He said that on the size of the terminal and the investment required the detailed feasibility report of the project is in its final stage of preparation and is expected to be submitted to the company in a couple of days. Land for the project has already been identified at the Mundra Port and SEZ and is expected to be transferred to the JV shortly.

According to Mr Pandian, once the DFR and the front end engineering design report is approved by the GSPC board, the company may go ahead with placing orders for the necessary plant and machinery.
Financial closure. Meanwhile, GSPC-Adani may delay the financial closure of the project till inclusion of a third partner.

A source said that “While we are determined to make fast progress towards project commissioning, the cash call for the project may be limited in next couple of months. To take advantage of the situation, we may keep on implementing the project and wait for selling the residual 25% stake in the project to a third partner at a premium.”

It may be mentioned that GSPC initially invited Essar to be the third partner in the project. Essar, however, is yet to show any interest. An informal expression of interest from HPCL for 50% stake was turned down by GSPC.

It is reported that Igarashi Motors India expects its JV with Robert Bosch GmbH of Germany to begin commercial operations shortly.

The JV Bosch Electrical Drives India Private Limited in which Igarashi Motors holds 49% and Bosch 51% equity will develop, manufacture and sell DC motors and systems for wiper, HVAC, engine cooling and window lift applications for the Indian automotive market.

BL reported that Greatship India Limited the wholly owned subsidiary of Great Eastern Shipping Company has inked a JV with DOF Sub sea ASA of Norway to focus on sub sea project opportunities in the Indian subcontinent.

DOF is a global supplier of sub sea services with the core business being execution of complex sub sea operations down to depths of 4,000 million. GIL has 6 marine assets operating across the world.

Mr Ravi Sheth MD of GIL said that “we are bullish on the prospects of offshore oilfield development off the East Coast of India and we expect the JV to be a leading player in the sub sea construction domain.”

Reuters reported Ashok Leyland Limited and Nissan Motor Company JV is on track to start production of light trucks in 2010-11 with exports making up a fifth of total output.

The JV said that the venture for light trucks signed in May 2008 along with those for powertrain manufacture and technology will set up a plant in Pillaipakkam near the southern city of Chennai with an initial capacity of 100,000 units.

Mr R Seshasayee MD of Ashok Leyland in a statement that said "The JV with Nissan is a major step in our plans to be a full range player and we are confident that we can meet our production targets."

The Leyland and Nissan ventures had committed to investments of about INR 24 billion with plans to build a new range of trucks for the local and overseas markets.

It said that Leyland India's second biggest bus and truck maker will also invest in expanding its capacity for medium and heavy trucks, as it seeks to more than double its capacity. It added that combined investments will exceed INR 40 billion.

It said that Leyland which trails leader TATA Motors Limited will step up capacity at its facilities in Ennore and Hosur in southern India, as well as at a greenfield site near Chennai, for engines, gear boxes, chassis and parts. It added that the new facilities will create more than 4,000 jobs and will get tax concessions for 21 years.

Demand in India, the world's fourth largest market for commercial vehicles is expected to grow on improving roads and a focus on infrastructure.

Project today reported that Dolphin Offshore Enterprises India bagged 2 orders for INR 304 crore from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation.

Dolphin Offshore said that of the 2 projects, the first project is for NQD enhancement project valued at EUR 27.03 million and the second one is ICP revamp project valued at EUR 28.09 million. The NQD project is to be completed by 06 June 2009 and the ICP project is to be completed by December 31st 2009.

Floods in Bihar has left lakhs of people homeless and depressed. In an effort to ease the misery of the flood victims, TATA Steel along with TATA Relief Committee has taken concrete steps to help the needy and rehabilitate the affected families.

The Company has made an appeal to its employees to volunteer to travel to the affected site and lend a helping hand in the relief activities that are being undertaken to help the homeless. The response to this appeal has been exemplary with approximately 100 employees coming forward to assist in the relief work in Bihar.

A task force has been formed by the Company under the leadership of Mr Rituraj chief, Corporate Relations of TATA Steel. The 7 member team consists of committed officials, who will monitor and coordinate the relief work till the time it is required.

Post consultations with Mr Nitish Kumar honorable CM of Bihar, TATA Steel has offered to assist the State Government in the rehabilitation work. Mr MB Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel has instructed the TATA Relief Committee to construct 50 semi permanent relief shelters in the flood affected areas of Bihar. The transportation of materials such as TATA Shaktee sheets and TATA MS pipes worth several crores which are required for building shelters are being despatched from Jamshedpur to Bihar. The process of construction is expected to start within a week's time. TATA Steel shall also be assisting in the rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the affected villages.

As one of the first corporate houses to come forward pro actively, TATA Steel is willing to participate in the process of resettling the flood victims in all possible ways along with the TATA Relief Committee. It is keen to respond and alleviate large scale suffering of people through natural calamities and disasters.

The Estado News Agency reported that a partnership between Japanese steelmakers Nippon Steel and JFE Steel lead bidding to purchase a stake in Companhia Siderurgica Nacional's iron ore unit Namisa.

CSN said it wanted to sell a stake in its Nacional Minerios iron ore mining unit and has estimated the value of Namisa at between USD 7 billion and USD 11 billion.

The bidding process is currently in the second phase, with companies expected to make binding offers.

In addition to Nippon and JFE, ArcelorMittal and TATA Steel were also strong candidates to buy the stake in Namisa.

Namisa currently produces about 14 million metric tonnes of iron ore a year, with about 3 billion tonnes of reserves. The unit operates several mines in iron ore rich Minas Gerais state, and includes access to railroad and port facilities.

Bloomberg reported that Ternium SA is planning to invest USD 4.2 billion to build a flat steel plant in Mexico.

In the first phase, a USD 2.7 billion flat rolled mini mill will be built near Monterrey. The mill, planned to be fully operational within 4 years, will produce 2 million tonnes of hot rolled coil annually.

In the project's second phase, Ternium will spend USD 1.5 billion to build a cold rolled and galvanizing plant. The project will be completed by 2013 and have an annual output of 300,000 tonnes of galvanized steel and 1 million tonnes of cold rolled coil.

The Monterrey facility would be the second expansion by closely held Techint Group, which owns a controlling stake in Ternium in Mexico.

Techint's Tenaris SA said that it will spend USD 1.6 billion to expand its Veracruz facility's yearly output of seamless steel pipes by 450,000 tonnes.

Bloomberg reported that Austrian steel major Voestalpine AG ahs agreed with Bulgarian to study the possibility of building a 5.5 million tonne steel plant on the Black Sea coast and has signed an agreement in this regard.

Under the agreement signed today, Bulgaria committed to provide the land and infrastructure for the mill, in case it gets chosen, while Voestalpine will provide the investment and committed to observe EU environmental safety requirements. The Bulgarian government will hire through a public tender a law firm to advise on the negotiations.

Mr Alfred Dusing CFO of Voestalpine's steel unit after the signing in Sofia said that it will decide by the yearend where to build the EUR 5 billion plant.

Mr Dusing said that “It is going to be a very difficult decision because each of the countries has different advantages. The main criteria we are looking for is European Union membership, good port conditions, access to the Danube River and availability of skilled steelworkers. It is difficult to find all in one country.''

Romania, Ukraine and Turkey are also being considered as locations. It has picked potential sites in each country, including the area around Bourgas in Bulgaria, Constanta in Romania, Odessa in Ukraine and Samsun in Turkey.

Reuters reported that Mexico's mining union said workers went on a one day strike at a steel plant and a nearby metal works business on Monday to protest the government's stance against the union's embattled leader. Both companies affected are in the northern state of Tamaulipas.

The union said in a statement that "We stopped at 7 in the morning and will go back to work at 7 in the morning on Tuesday.”

The union said Monday's strike was a response to Labor Minister Mr Javier Lozano's recent comments against the union. R Lozano recently called the long running strike at Cananea a means of blackmailing the government and Grupo Mexico. Mr Carlos Pavon union official said that "The stoppage is to protest the anti union attitude of the government."

Officials at Siderurgica del Golfo, a subsidiary of Mexican steel company ICH told Reuters workers were outside the installations holding signs.

Brazil's Magnesita SA announced that it will pay EUR 277 million cash and stock to buy LWB Refractories GMBH & Co KG, a German company that makes products used in the steel industry.

LWB stockholders will receive EUR 108 million in cash and about EUR 169 million in new shares. Magnesita also will assume EUR 380 million euros of debt from LWB.

Magnesita said its deal to buy LWB from Rhone Capital also includes the assumption of EUR 380 million euros in debt and that the conclusion of the deal is subject to regulatory approval.

The deal would almost double Magnesita's annual sales to about EUR 900 million making it the world's third-largest refractory-tile maker. The purchase boosts output capacity to 1.1 million tonnes a year.

Mr Ronaldo Iabrudi CEO of Magnesita said that “We aim to become the world's biggest refractories company in terms of revenue by 2012. We continue to assess opportunities to expand our presence in Europe, US and Canada, where our presence is small.''

Mr Iabrudi added that “Even if we see a slight slowdown in steel demand growth, refractories demand is still set for significant growth. `The LWB expansion gives us the opportunity for considerable growth in China, where we plan to double capacity of the existing LWB refractories plants to 180,000 tonnes a year.''

JPMorgan advised Magnesita and UBS AG and Merrill Lynch & Co. advised closely held LWB.

The Brazilian company is controlled by Brazilian private equity firms GP Investments Ltd. and Gavea Investimentos.

Mr LN Mittal CEO and chairman of ArcelorMittal, who received the Malcolm S Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award, believes that despite the slowdown, the global steel market will continue to grow at 3% to 5% per annum.

Mr Mittal at the Forbes Global CEO Conference gala dinner in Singapore said that “The demand in China will make up for the slack in growth in the US, Europe and Japan. China makes up one third of the world demand. There will be 221 cities by 2025 and they will need 40,000 to 50,000 skyscrapers.”

He said that “All these will be made of steel and it gives me confidence that the demand will grow albeit not at double digits.”

He added that demand from India would also come from the small to medium industries.

The fast developing Indian steel industries are continuing beyond what most believed was possible. As one of the world's fastest growing economies, India has become