The Hindu Business Line : Acquisition prospects limited in India, says Mittal

Mittal Steel Chairman, Mr L.N. Mittal, said on Friday that there were very limited acquisition possibilities in India and that the group would strengthen its position in the country through greenfield ventures.

Elaborating on the group's India strategy, Mr Aditya Mittal, son of Mr L.N. Mittal and Chief Financial officer (CFO) of the group, said, "We want a presence in India first through greenfield projects.

"Not many acquisition opportunities are available.

"Takeover candidates are far less and limited. I don't expect any fireworks at least this year."

Building partnerships

Mr Mittal also said that his company was open to a joint venture with the largest Indian steel manufacturer, State-owned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), for projects outside India. Stating that his joint venture with public sector oil major ONGC has been successful, Mr Mittal said, "If there is any opportunity for partnering with SAIL, we are ready to give a thought to it."

Speaking on the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel, he said, Arcelor was very strong in mining and had a variety of steel products that would be useful for Mittal steel. Arcelor was also good in research and development activities in the steel sector, he said, and pointed out that "the combined entity would have around 1,300 staff in R&D alone".

Mr Aditya Mittal said that new company Arcelor-Mittal would have a management board with six members each from both the companies and he would be one of the members of the committee and would continue as the CFO of the merged entity.

Brief tour

Expressing his displeasure with the progress in the company's proposed greenfield plant in Jharkhand, Mr Mittal said that he would decide on the location of his India plant within the next few weeks. "We are yet to decide on whether it would be Jharkhand or Orissa or both Jharkhand and Orissa. We are now taking a long-term vision of 20 million tonnes or more. So, we are looking for locations for the long term," he added.

Mr Mittal started his day-long whirlwind India visit from Orissa in the morning, where he flew down straight from London.

After meeting the State Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, on the feasibility of setting up a steel plant in the State, Mr Mittal flew down to the Capital with his son and senior executives.

In the Capital, Mr Mittal called upon the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, the Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, and other dignitaries.