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SAIL to spend Rs 1,000 crore annually for upgradation
Kolkata, Nov 05: Riding high on the buoyancy in the market, state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd has planned to invest Rs 800-Rs 1,000 crore annually to keep pace with the technological upgradation and maintain quality and competitiveness.
"With 92 per cent of our products being sold in domestic
market, sail is essentially a major domestic player and we
will make the investments keeping in view market requirement
in the country," SAIL Chairman V S Jain told newsmen here.
At present, SAIL's product mix included 60 per cent flats
and 40 per cent longs.
Predicting a growth both in long and flat segments, Jain
said the company's strategy would be worked out keeping in
mind the market scenario.
He said for the current fiscal Rs 600 crore had already
been approved for various upgradation plans which included
installation of facilities for manufacturing longer rails in
Bhilai involving an expenditure of over Rs 300 crore.
On the company's financial performance, Jain said after
being in the red for some years, sail achieved a turnaround
with a half-yearly net profit of Rs 760 crore in the current
fiscal.
He said about Rs 2,000 crore debt reduction was achieved
by sail in the first six months of 2003-04. The interest
payment was also reduced by Rs 200 crore by repaying and
replacing high-interest borrowings with low-interest loans.
Bureau Report