JSW Steel to spend up to $1 billion on capacity expansion and acquisitions

The Dollar Business Bureau

JSW Steel on Thursday said the company is planning to spend up to $1 billion (about Rs.6,500 crore) a year on its capacity expansion and acquisitions. 

Sajjan Jindal-led company is also looking to bid for two iron ore mines in Odisha and coking coal mines in Jharkhand in the upcoming auctions,

JSW Steel Joint MD and Group CFO Seshagiri Rao said: “We are capable of spending up to $1 billion per annum without increasing debt on capacity expansion and acquisitions.”  

Rao confirmed that the company is working at its expansion plans, by bidding aggressively for iron ore mines and coal mine auctions later this year.

Replying to a query on whether JSW Steel would bid for all the five coking coal mines in the eastern state, Rao said, "We are evaluating. Once the details are out, we will take a call. 

JSW Steel on average imports about 8 million tonnes of coking coal each year. At present, the company buys pretty much everything (raw material).

JSW Steel, flagship arm of the $11 billion JSW Group, has operations at six locations in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. 

The firm has set an ambitious objective of achieving 40 MTPA capacity over the next decade. 

Unlike JSW Steel’s nearest rivals, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) and Tata Steel Ltd., it does not have any iron ore mines and thus is forced to import the raw material.

The company buys millions of tonnes of coking coal from Australia, Canada and the United States.