SAIL to raise Rs 6,500 cr from banks to fund FY 10 capex

MUMBAI: State-run steel major SAIL on Monday said it plans to raise long-term debt of Rs 6,500 crore from various banks to fund its capex plans for the current fiscal.

"We will raise up to Rs 6,500 crore from various investment banks this year. We have already raised Rs 3,000 crore," Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) Chairman S K Roongta told reporters on the sidelines of a CII function here.

"The rate of interest (at which we are borrowing) is below 9 per cent. Whatever debt we are raising will be used for (funding) capex plans," he said.

Earlier this month, SAIL had said it would borrow about Rs 5,000 crore in the current fiscal to part-finance its expansion plans.

The country's largest steel producer is enhancing its production capacity to 26 million tonnes from the present 14 million tonnes. The expansion project is estimated to attract an investment of Rs 78,000 crore.

SAIL has already declared a capital expenditure of Rs 10,300 crore for the current fiscal.

Roongta said that while SAIL does not plan to raise prices of flat products, the company will "take a call" on cutting prices of long products on August 1.