Indian steel producer Tata Steel has forecast that its steel production in India will account for 73 percent of its total global business over the next decade, a company official said while addressing investors on Thursday, July 8.
A decade ago, Indian operations accounted for 29 percent, while 63 percent was accounted for by the company’s overseas operations.
Tata Steel’s overseas focus started in 2004 with the acquisition of NatSteel, Singapore, followed by Millennium Steel Thailand in 2005 and Corus in 2007. Over the past few years, its focus has shifted to India with the acquisition of Bhushan Steel Limited and Usha Martin Steel while reducing its footprint in Europe.
Tata Steel will raise its production capacity in India to 40 million mt per year by 2030 from about 20 million mt per year now, with organic growth in the flat steel segment and inorganic growth in the long products, T V Narendran, CEO of Tata Steel, told investors.
Indian operations are one of the most profitable for Tata Steel, as it is one of the lowest-cost producers of steel in the world and hence the share of Indian operations in its total business had increased from 29 percent a decade ago to 57 percent in 2020, Mr. Narendran informed investors.
“There is no pressure to sell overseas businesses. Assuming overseas units remain where they are, Europe’s contribution to Tata Steel’s total business will reduce to 23 percent in 2030 from 36 percent in 2020, while the contribution of Southeast Asian operations would fall to four percent from six percent,” Narendran said.