SAIL approves joint venture with Arcelormittal for auto steel

NEW DELHI: Domestic steel giant SAIL on Wednesday said its board has approved the proposal to enter into a joint venture with the world’s largest steelmaker, Arcelormittal, for manufacturing high-end automotive steel.

“The Board of SAIL in its meeting held on December 12, 2017, has approved the proposal for signing of a legally non-binding term sheet with Arcelormittal S.A for entering into a JV for automotive Steel Business,” Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said.

However, definitive agreements in this regard will be finalised in due course subject to financial viability, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

SAIL and Arcelormittal had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May 2015 to explore the possibility of setting up an auto-grade steel manufacturing facility under a joint venture in India.

Steel minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said last week that the JV was likely soon and the proposed R15,000-crore autograde steel plant project with a capacity of 1.5 million tonne per annum could be scaled up to 2.5 MT.

Singh had said that Arcelormittal has the technology and are keen to enter into a JV with SAIL.

The minister has said that in the next 3-4 years, India would be a hub of car manufacturing and according to estimates, the country would manufacture about 28% of the cars in the world.