Posted on 16 Jul 2021
India's largest iron ore producer state-controlled NMDC will spin off its steel unit and list it as a separate entity amid government measures to boost steel production.
India, the world's second largest producer of steel, is aiming to boost steel capacity as it emerges from stringent lockdown measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
NMDC did not say when it plans to list its steel operations. The move is subject to statutory and regulatory approvals from Securities and Exchange Board of India, stock exchanges, the government and respective shareholders and creditors, the company said in an exchange filing.
NMDC's iron ore output rose by 34pc from a year earlier to 8.89mn t during April-June, while sales increased by 49pc to 9.57mn t.
The firm is already setting up a steel plant at Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh with 3mn t/yr capacity.
The Indian government has set out a road map to raise the country's steel production to 300mn t/yr by 2030 NMDC said. It will do this partly by setting up special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) to help facilitate and develop greenfield steel plants in the mineral-rich states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Odisha, it added.
India's current steel production capacity is 147mn t/yr.
Source:Argus
