The Indian steel industry has submitted a presentation to the Ministry of Steel seeking a bailout package which, inter alia, has sought a year-long deferment on interest charges and the principal amount on debt raised from commercial banks, a ministry official said on Wednesday, January 13.
The presentation submitted on behalf of all domestic steel companies, government-owned and private, said that, despite the import protection imposed by the government, cheap steel imports continue to be observed from South Korea and Japan, and severely erode the cash flow of all local steel producers and negatively impact the debt servicing capacities of these companies, the official said.
The total debt burden of all domestic steel companies is estimated at INR 3 trillion ($44.8 billion), according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).