NEW DELHI, Oct 28: State-owned steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) plans to raise about Rs 5,000-6,000 crore in the next three years from the markets to meet its capital expenditure requirements.
“The process will begin from January, when the company will be raising about Rs 1,000 crore to fund current fiscals’ capex requirements,” a senior company official told.
This month the government indefinitely deferred RINL’s initial public offer (IPO) due to differences with the merchant bankers over the price band of the issue.
The Vizag-based steelmaker has also reworked its capex plans for the current fiscal as its ongoing expansion has got delayed due to a blast at its factory in June. As many as 19 persons were killed in that blast.
According to the revised plan, the company will spend about Rs 1,400-1,500 crore on expansion and modernisation this year against a target of about Rs 1,800 crore, the official said.
Besides, RINL will raise about Rs 1,500-2,000 crore next fiscal, and about Rs 2,500 crore in 2014-15 to fund capacity upgradation and rebuilding existing assets, he added.
However, the fund raising plan does not include acquiring assets abroad as the steelmaker was told to go solo by the Steel Ministry only last week, the official further said.
“This (the fund raising) excludes acquisitions abroad. For that we will be making attempts now onwards. Today there is no visibility on that,” he said.
The delayed expansion of the company, after which RINL’s steel making capacity will increase to 6.3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), from the existing 3 MTPA, is now expected to be completed by year-end. RINL has invested about Rs 12,300 crore on the expansion and is a debt-free company currently.
The company also has plans to modernise its existing 3 MTPA unit and thereby increasing the capacity to a total of 7.3 MTPA by 2014-15. The fund raising plan till 2014-15 has also included the cost of modernising the existing facility, the official said.
In 2011-12, the company had posted its best-ever turnover at Rs 14,457 crore and a profit after tax of Rs 751 crore.
The government has plans to offload 10 per cent stake in RINL and the IPO proceeds will go into the disinvestment kitty of the exchequer as and when it happens.
However, the indefinite deferment the IPO has also brought RINL on the brink of losing its ‘Navratna’ status as listing on the bourses within 2 years was one of the major conditions when the steelmaker was awarded the coveted tag on November 16, 2010. (PTI)
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