Domestic steel demand may grow up to 5% in FY'18: JSW Steel

NEW DELHI: The domestic steel demand is expected to grow 4.5 to 5 per cent in the next fiscal, buoyed by increased spending on infra projects by the government, Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel said today.

"We expect the steel demand (to be) in line with the thrust of the Indian government to spend money for the next year that should give an optimism to us that this 3.5 per cent will be higher in FY 2017-18, so it's where we are giving a guidance of 4.5-5 per cent in FY 2017-18," JSW Steel Joint MD and Group CFO Seshagiri Rao told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

"Our expectations for the next year is that there is a larger outlay on the building of rural economy, on infrastructure in India particularly affordable housing," he said.

Stating that the company was not averse to acquisitions, Rao said, "We always look for inorganic opportunities if they are available in India. So we continue to look at those options."

He further said that JSW Steel needs to maintain its market share of 15 per cent if the Indian steel capacity and demand continue to grow.

"So the national draft steel policy of 2017 is talking about 300 million tonnes capacity. If I take 15 per cent of that it should be 45 million tonnes. So that is what we are aiming to achieve in line with the growth in steel," he said.

The firm is a leading integrated steel company in India with an installed capacity of 18 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).