JSW Steel plans to merge Monnet Ispat & Energy with itself after turning around the company in the next one year.
Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director, JSW Steel, said going by the Group’s past experience it normally takes about one year to turn-around an asset, so hopefully, Monnet will also turn positive in a year’s time.
“We will eventually merge Monnet Ispat into JSW Steel and it will be a JSW brand,” he said on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting here on Tuesday.
Last week, the National Company Law Tribunal approved a ₹2,875-crore bid by a consortium of Aion Investments and JSW Steel to acquire the bankrupt Monnet Ispat & Energy, which owes over ₹11,000 crore to lenders.
Essar Steel asset
The Aion-JSW consortium was the sole bidder for the 1.5-million-tonne asset in Chhattisgrah.
Answering a question on the Group’s interest in the stressed asset of Essar Steel, he said the matter is in court and the NCLAT judgement is expected in the next two-three weeks.
“We have to wait and watch its outcome,” he said
In a bid to enhance production capacity and grow market shares in the domestic market, JSW Steel has tied up with Russian bank- promoted Numetal consortium to bid for the stressed Essar Steel asset.
Jindal pointed out that the company is also in the process of working to increase its presence in iron ore and coking coal mining.
“We are very constructive about the long-term growth potential for steel consumption in India. Even at a reasonable rate of growth of about 7 per cent per annum for the overall steel demand, India will need to create over 150 million tonnes of new steel capacity in the next 10 years,” he said.
However, he added global economies are increasingly stepping up protectionist trade measures to safeguard the interest of their domestic industries.
While this trend may continue in the future, it will not hinder JSW Steel ability to cater to the international markets. “This is because during the year we have selectively pursued some value-accretive acquisitions in the overseas markets with the strategic objective of replicating our low capital cost model in a relatively higher operating cost environment,” he said.