Aluminium producers demand safeguard duty on imports

BHUBANESHWAR, 6 Oct, 2015: Domestic aluminium producers such as Vedanta, Hindalco and Nalco are urging the government to impose a safeguard duty on aluminium imports as was done in the case of some steel products, due to falling international prices and increasing production costs.

Aluminium Association India (AAI) representatives plan to meet revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia on Friday to push their case.

"We are confident of taking up our case of safeguard duty on specific aluminium products, which is in line with what the government has done for the steel industry," said Abhijit Pati, CEO at Vedanta Aluminium.

The Narendra Modi government had recently imposed a 20% provisional safeguard duty on hot-rolled flat steel products for 200 days.

AAI said aluminium deserves to be treated as a core industry, at par with steel. At present, imports account for 55% of aluminium consumption in the country. Prices of the aluminium on the London Metal Exchange had fallen 42% since its peak in April 2011 to $1,540 a tonne in August, according to data shared by the association.

At the same time, cost of production for AAI members has risen 29%.

Vedanta has already shut down a rolling mill of Balco in Chhattisgarh due to lack of availability of viable bauxite supply. Its Odisha refinery, currently running at half its capacity, too could be shut down if things don't improve, officials said.

Vedanta group CEO Tom Albanese, Hindalco deputy MD Satish Pai and state-run Nalco CMD T K Chand had met finance minister Arun Jaitley last month and sought doubling of import duty on all aluminium products to 10% from 5% now.

They had said that while they had invested Rs 1.2 lakh crore to ramp up capacity almost 50% of their installed capacity was lying idle even as their combined debt stood at Rs 70,000 crore.

However, despite aluminium producers' meetings with officials of finance ministry, mines ministry and the Central Board of Excise and Customs, import duty on the metal has yet to be raised.

Courtesy: The Economic Times

WINNING STROKES: THINK DIFFERENT

Photo: A1data Entry

Tata Steel Ltd recommended last week at around Rs.217, today crossed Rs.250, intra-day and is now trading at Rs.250.40. Most of the metal stocks are rising, not only due to value buying, but also due to better prospects in the construction sector going forward. The negatives are already factored in the current prices of the metal stocks and therefore, most of them are showing upswing. Very recently, Alcoa's chief executive said, "The global aluminium demand will grow by 6.5% in 2015 and will double during this decade". Moreover, an uptick in aluminium demand from the automotive segment to meet stricter global emission standards should boost revenue and profits for Novelis and other Aluminium companies. Also, Hindalco Industries Ltd's, debt of about ~Rs.60,000 crore may remain at these levels for quite sometime, as the capex cycle is nearing an end.  Hindalco Industries Ltd's net debt to equity is about 1.7 times.
Rohit Ferro Tech Ltd recommended in this blog only a few days back for a target of Rs.9.7 today closed at Rs.6, up 4.35%.

Reliance Communications Ltd recommended to the Premium Group members at Rs.72, touched Rs.78 and is now trading at Rs.75.40. 

Jindal Saw Ltd recommended at Rs.67.5, to the Premium Group members on 7th October, 2015; today it touched Rs.71.90, intra-day. 
Rasoya Proteins Ltd hit the upper circuits today at Re.0.28 in the BSE. In the NSE, it closed at Re.0.30. The stock should move up from here, due to increased positive outlook of the company. Meanwhile, The Economic Times, wrote on 9 October, 2015: "....monsoon and the sowing for soybean has been well above average and the carry forward of the previous year is more than comfortable to meet the demand before the new crop comes in".

Today, another stock from the metal sector was recommended to the Premium group members at Rs.84.35, for a short term target of Rs.93. What is the name of the scrip? Join the Premium Services, to stay ahead of others.

WINNING STROKES: THINK DIFFERENT

Photo: V C Circle

Tata Steel Ltd recommended to the Premium Group members at Rs.217 on 05 October, 2015; today touched Rs.237.70 intra-day. The steel companies are moving up along with those in the construction space. 

Yesterday, Reliance Communications Ltd was recommended to the Premium Group members, today it touched Rs.76.75 intra-day.  

Lanco Infratech Ltd was recommended to the Premium Group members at Rs.3.25 on 9th September, 2015. The scrip made a high of around Rs.5.9, when profit booking was suggested to the Premium Group. Today it closed at Rs.4.85. This means that even if you somehow get the name of a stock, you might not be able to make gains, without proper guidance. This market is not for the novices and part-timers. Get the services of experts, to get maximum benefits from the stock market. 

Buy Rohit Ferro-Tech Ltd at Rs.5.75, for a target of Rs.9.7 (recommended to the Premium Group at Rs.5.68). Rohit Ferro Tec is in the Mining & Minerals sector. The current market capitalisation stands at Rs.65.42 crore. Earlier there were media reports that Balasore Alloys Ltd (formerly Ispat Alloys Limited), which is part of the Ispat Group, had inked a deal to acquire Rohit Ferro-Tech's Jajpur-based manufacturing unit for an enterprise value of $164.5 million (approximately Rs.1,025 crore). The company decided to dispose of the Jajpur unit so as to ease its financial burden and improve its cash flow requirement. It also has units located at Bishnupur and Haldia in West Bengal.

The steel sector should do well in the coming days, after a tide of imports created problems for the players. It is pertinent to mention here that the Indian economy, which grew at less than 5% for two consecutive years in 2012-13 and 2013-14 (going by a previous gross domestic product—GDP—series), saw investment come to a virtual standstill during that period. However, the government is filling the gap by pushing up capital spending. It is encouraging to note that the government’s plan expenditure jumped 112% year-on-year in the April-July 2015 period, with the capital component of plan expenditure leaping 84%, according to a 1 September report by Deutsche Bank Market Research.

Today, a stock from the Jindal Group was recommended to the Premium Group members, as a buy. Can you name the stock? Join the Premium Group, to stay ahead of others. 

Note: I am changing my location in Mumbai (Bombay), hence I would be very busy for the next 9-10 days. Hence, both the Premium and Free blog might not get updated daily. Please bear with me. 

SAIL, Essar hike prices of flat steel prodcuts, take advantage of safeguard duty 

Photo: SAIL

KOLKATA,2 Oct, 2015: Major steel producers have announced a price hike on flat steel products, taking advantage of the 20% safeguard duty imposed last week on hot rolled (HR) coils. The country's largest state-run steel producer Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has raised prices of flat steel products like HR coils by Rs 700 per tonne. Essar Steel too on Thursday decided to raise prices by Rs 500 per tonne on its range of flat products with immediate effect. 

Similar moves are expected to be made by other private sector players too within the next few days, causing a furore among a section of the steel users. They have protested against the hike and raised the demand for a 20% anti-dumping duty on finished steel to create a level playing field. "Our margins are under pressure. Imports continue to affect us. The market remains tough," an official in a leading steel company said to justify the hike. An industry source said the price change is more in the nature of a correction after the prices dropped by almost Rs 10,000 over the past year. 

Analysts were surprised by the timing of hike since the steel market remains lacklustre and the price increase came close on heels of the safeguard duty. 

"The key factor that can sustain any price increase is a revival in steel demand. However, in this case, the main user industries for HR coils -auto and consumer goods -remain slow. Hence, main producers are perhaps testing the waters by announcing a price hike," Goutam Chakraborty, metals analyst at Emkay Global said. 

An official with a top private sector steel producer said they were likely to announce a decision on prices on Monday (October 5) ahead of "a long weekend before us." 

Reacting to the price hike a sizeable section of steel users have called for imposition of a 20% anti-dumping duty on finished stee products to counter the 20% provisional safe guard duty on hot rolled coils a key raw mate rial for value added steel products like seam less tubes & pipes, engineering and fabrication as well as the auto sector. The safeguard duty has prompted steel pro ducers to hike prices making the input mate rial expensive and manufacturing costlier for a large number of end users. This, accord ing to them, will adversely affect the govern ment's 'Make in India' campaign since stee is a major input for the manufacturing sector as a whole. 

"The government should immediately im pose 20% duty on finished manufactured products of steel coming into India to pro vide a level playing field. Imposition of safeguard duty of 20% on hot rolled (HR) coils has made our raw material expansive and domestic manufacturing costlier. How can we compete with imports?" 

H L Bhardwaj, secretary general of Federation of Industries of India (FII), a grouping of domestic manufacturers of seamless tubes and pipes said. He added the domestic seamless pipes industry, which employs over 25,000 people, is staring at imminent closure due to dumping of cheaper products from China. 

"The industry is reeling under low capacity utilisation of 20-30% for the past year and may be forced to shut down factories leading to job losses and closure of ancillary industries,

H L Bhardwaj, secretary general of Federation of Industries of India (FII), a grouping of domestic manufacturers of seamless tubes and pipes said. He added the domestic seamless pipes industry, which employs over 25,000 people, is staring at imminent closure due to dumping of cheaper products from China. 

"The industry is reeling under low capacity utilisation of 20-30% for the past year and may be forced to shut down factories leading to job losses and closure of ancillary industries,"

Bhardwaj said. With a base of 4.5 million tonne, pipes and tubes form a sizeable and critical chunk of steel users, along with other aggrieved user segments like general engineering, fabrication and auto sector. 

Courtesy: The Economic Times

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Lanco Infratech Ltd (Rs.5.97) recommended on 9th September, 2015, at Rs.3.25 has hit another buyer freeze today. The scrip has almost doubled in the last one month, after its recommendation was put on the Premium Blog. The share was chosen amongst a group of Infrastructure companies, based on some positive developments.

Meanwhile, Lanco Infratech Ltd has allotted 26,51,74,603 (Twenty Six Crores Fifty One Lakh Seventy Four Thousand Six Hundred and Three only) equity shares of Re.1 each at a price of Rs.6.30-- promoters’ contribution being Rs.167.06 crore into equity shares of the company.

How to play the scrip of Lanco Infrastructure Ltd from now on? Join the Premium Service, to churn maximum benefits from the market. 

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Karuturi Global Ltd (Rs.2.56) is the world's largest producer of cut roses, having a global present in Asia, America and Europe.

The company has its operation in India, Ethopia, Dubai and Kenya, diversified into agriculture, floriculture and food processing producing Pulses, Oil Seeds, Maize, Sugar, Cut Roses, Plants production and distribution, Gherkins, Baby Corn, Jalapenos and Bottled Pickles. With over 292 hectares under greenhouse cultivation, the company annually produces around 555 million stems of quality cut roses for exports to high-value markets.

The company has identified agri-business as its prime growth engine and taken up cultivation in Ethiopia on a big scale to become a major player in the global agri-product market, mentions its website.

Recently (August 17, 2015), ICICI Bank acquired 8.89% stake in this leading rose exporter (Karuturi Global Ltd). Therefore, accumulate the shares of the company on declines for some good returns over 6-9 months.

Gitanjali Gems Ltd: Buy on Declines

Gitanjali Gems Ltd was recommended yesterday at around Rs.33.5. The scrip today touched an intra-day high of Rs.39, before closing at Rs.37.75 in the BSE.

The company's consolidated Q1 net for the quarter ended June 2015 nearly tripled to Rs.28.05 crore when compared with Rs.10.15 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income also surged by nearly 42 percent to Rs.2,952 crore from Rs.2,082 crore. 

The scrip should be accumulated on declines as it could cross Rs.60, by this Deepawali..........

ICICI takes 8.89% in rose exporter Karuturi for Rs.25 crore

New Delhi | 18 August 2015: ICICI Bank on Tuesday said it has acquired 8.89% stake in leading rose exporter Karuturi Global.

"ICICI Bank Ltd (India) acquired 72,000,000 equity shares by way of invocation of pledge," ICICI Bank said in a release on BSE.

As per the filing, ICICI Bank had acquired 8.89% shares in Karuturi on August 17, 2015.

At yesterday's closing price of Rs.3.43 of Karuturi, the deal is valued at over Rs.24.69 crore.

Karuturi Global is a leading producer of cut roses with operations spread across Ethiopia, Kenya and India.

With over 292 hectares under greenhouse cultivation, the company annually produces around 555 million stems of quality cut roses for exports to high-value markets.

The company has identified agri-business as its prime growth vertical and taken up cultivation in Ethiopia on a big scale to become a major player in the global agri-product market, says its website.

Courtesy: DnaIndia.com

Rasoya Proteins Ltd: Update

I had spoken with the sources of Rasoya Proteins Ltd last week and these are the findings: 

• The company is planning to open the main plant between the period September, 2015-December 2015. This is now almost certain as the farmers are expecting good soya-bean crop, during this harvesting season; starting from September, 2015. 
• The company is in constant touch with the banks to get their loans restructured. The management is also looking for other opportunities get the funds. 
• The company could also come up with a preference issue for the promoters or infuse funds in a revamping operation.  
• The FY15 Annual Report of the company is likely to get updated in the BSE Website, either by the end of August., 2015 or in the 1st week of September, 2015. Naturally, the share price of a company increases before the publication of the annual reports.
• The company is expected to get good amount from the Insurance Claim (of Rs.34 Cr) towards Soyabean Stock Destroyed/Damaged due to fire; but it is likely to take another 3-4 months, get settled. 
• This time the company could import seeds, if they are available cheap in the international market. 
• The directors has appealed to the SAT, against the SEBI order, and a favourable verdict is expected. 
• However, the fund shortage is the biggest challenge for the company at present. If this gets somewhat resolved, then the share price could cross Rs.10, within the next 12 months. 

Conclusion: Buy the shares of the company on all declines with a SL of Re0.20, for short term targets of Re.0.60 and Re.1.00. 

Gitajali Gems Ltd: Buy

CMP: Rs.42.30

Gitanjali Gems Ltd recently announced the Un-Audited Standalone results for the Quarter ended June 30, 2015.

The Company has posted a net profit of Rs.158.014 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 as compared to Rs.79.692 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. Total Income has increased from Rs.15343.864 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 to Rs.16873.250 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

The Un-Audited Consolidated Results for the Quarter ended June 30, 2015 is as follows:

The Group has posted a net profit after taxes, Minority Interest and Share of Profit/(Loss) of Associates of Rs.280.522 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 as compared to Rs.101.536 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. 

Total Income has increased from Rs. 20815.980 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 to Rs. 29526.728 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Moreover, the consortium of bankers have assessed the working capital requirements and the sanctions are awaited with modified terms. The company's request for substitution of security and release of cash margin is accepted by the consortium of banks and on providing alternate collateral securities to banks, cash margins and collateral amount to Rs.55.98 Cr, would be released by the banks which will cover the overdrawing from Banks. The company's over drawn position in the working capital account as on June 30, 2015 amounted to around Rs.43.96 crores which is mainly on account of non servicing of interest and charges. 

Buy the scrip at Rs.42.30, for a short term target of Rs.64 and medium term target of Rs.72.

Do you know?

Educomp Solutions Ltd came out with a little better set of numbers for the June, 2015 quarter, speaking sequentially. It has reported a consolidated total income from operations of Rs.143.23 crore and a net loss of Rs.85.26 crore for the quarter ended Jun '15. For the quarter ended Mar 2015 the consolidated total income from operations was Rs.119.42 crore and net loss was Rs 153.00 crore.

Educomp is the largest Education Company in India and the only company spread across the entire education ecosystem. From schools to skills; over last two decades Educomp group has empowered over 30 million learners and educators across over 65,000 schools to imagine, think and create a better future. Founded in 1994, the company today has offices across India, in Singapore and in the United States.

The scrip was recommended to the Paid Members at around Rs.13.10, this week. Today, it closed at Rs.13.66, after touching an intra-day high of Rs.14.19; bringing smiles to the Paid Group members. 

Meanwhile, Rasoya Proteins Ltd (Re.0.26) is likely to start hitting upper circuits in the coming days, due to some latest positive developments (which was mentioned in the Paid Blog, today). 

Rasoya Proteins Ltd: Buy in Bulk

Rasoya Proteins Ltd (NSE Code: RASOYPR and BSE Code: 531522), a listed company is one of the major soyabean processors in the state of Maharashtra. It markets the Rasoya brand of Soya-oil, which off-late has emerged as a leading brand of edible oil in Maharashtra.

It is to be noted that low Soyabean output since the last two years has been one of the major reasons for the current depleted fundamentals of the company (apart from the GDR fiasco). 

Meanwhile, Rasoya Proteins Limited, which has a debt of over Rs.100 crore, had been classified as a NPA this April (2015) by a consortium of Banks, led by State Bank of India (SBI)--Bank of Baroda (BoB) is also having a share in the loan. However, during the last quarter, the company duly lodged Insurance Claim of Rs.34 Cr with the insurer towards Soyabean Stock Destroyed/Damaged due to fire which is yet to be realized.

The promoters have already indicated that low output and high prices of soyabean have hit the company's profitability, affecting the repayment of loans. 

However, better prospect of Soya-crop this season, has again raised the hopes of the shareholders. Also, the company is looking to operate its main plant with increased capacity, post-harvest season, beginning from September, 2015.

During the June 2015, the company came out with a slightly better standalone results, speaking sequentially.

The main activity of the company--Solvent extraction has not been carried out during the entire June, 2015 quarter due to non availability of Agro based Raw Materials, Soyabean Seed. As a consequence the Refinery and Captive Power Plant operation remained closed during that period. However, the plants for Value added products, viz. Fish Feed and Powder Lecithin  are in operation.  

The company's full Product Range Includes:

• Soya Flakes / Grits :- Soya DOC, Soya Hi-pro DOC, Soya Full Fat Soya DOC / Meal - Enzyme active, Soya Grits Untoasted, Soya Flakes - Toasted - Food grade, Flakes MPDI, Full Fat Grits,
• Soya Flour - Toasted / Untoasted, Food grade / Feed Grade, Hi-pro flour,
• Soya Lecithin : Liquid and Powder,
• Soya Textured Protein,
• Soya Refined Oil,
• Fish Feed.

It is a Reputed Manufacturer and Exporter of Soya Products, Wheat Flour, Fish Feed and Power generation in India. It has three Soya Processing Units with a total capacity of 1800 MT per day. It also has two refineries with capacity of 250 MT per day. Moreover, it possesses important certificates like: 

• Cert ID NON GMO certificate,
• Kosher certificate,
• HalalCertificate,
• ISO 22000:2005. 

Buy the shares of the company for a short term target of Re.1 and long term target of Rs.10. The general theory is that the share of such a company cannot trade below its Face Value even with these fundamentals. 

The investors/traders should note that it is a SPECULATIVE COUNTER and is ONLY SUITABLE, for high-risk-taking-individuals.

Brokerage Report

Green shoots: Positive IIP data + Controlled Inflation + Robust Indirect Tax Collection Numbers, Depicts Incipient Recovery

Factory   output   growth for   the   country   surged   to   3.8% in  June up  from  2.5% (revised) in  the  previous month...

Photo: Green Shoots Psychology

The  index  of  industrial  production  (IIP)  rose  to  a four-month    high    on the    back    of rebound    in    the manufacturing sector, which rose 4.6% in June compared to 2.9%  growth  in  the  year  earlier  period.  The  turnaround  in consumer  goods  and  consumer  durables  also  augured  well but the capital goods sector contracted after seven months, pointing  to  weakness  in  investment  conditions. 

The  data suggested  a  slow  pickup  in  demand  following  the  lowering of  interest  rates.  As  many  as  16  of  the  22  sub-sectors posted positive growth.

Retail Inflation remained within the RBI’s comfort zone at 3.78%...
Retail  inflation,  the  primary  gauge  for  the  Reserve  Bank  of  India, softened sharply in July to 3.78% from 5.40 % in June, much   below   the central   bank's   comfort   zone,   quelling immediate  upside  risks  arising  out  of  deficient  monsoon estimates.

Price of pulses remained a worry as they shot up nearly  23%  year-on-year  in  July,  but  food  and  beverages inflation remained benign at 2.9%.

Fresh Hopes: Another Rate Cut...
Belying  concerns  related  to weak  monsoon,  food  inflation softened.The   sharp   moderation   in   retail   inflation   is expected  to  trigger  calls  for  a  cut  in  interest  rates.  RBI  left rates unchanged in its policy review earlier this month. The latest  retail  inflation  data  is  much  below  the  comfort  level of RBI.

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The total area sown under Soya-bean Crop, is likely to be 100-110 lakh hectares this Kharif season, almost similar to last year. Also the crop yield might be normal and satisfactory in states like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, unlike what was expected earlier.

The Soya-crop, which accounts for more than a third of India's oil-seed production, had earlier come under stress after rainfall deficiency of as much as 54% in central India and 60% in the southern peninsula in the first half of July. 

However, off-late several places in Central and Northeast India have recorded good rainfall, especially during the last fortnight. In fact earlier this month, Yavatmal, Wardha, Buldhana, Akola and Amravati in Maharashtra, witnessed record breaking rain which raised the hopes for Soya Oil industry. Moreover, this spell of rain has come as a huge relief to the people of Vidarbha region who were witnessing deficient rain.

Meanwhile,  according to media reports, in Rajasthan, the area under soybean is likely to touch 10 lakh hectares, helped by late rains including recent rains and available irrigation facility. The crop is reported to be quite satisfactory. 

It is worth mentioning here that July and August are the peak Monsoon months for most parts of the country. The average monthly rainfall amounts are also very high. And though it is expected that all the regions receive good rain during this period, the distribution of rain is still uneven. 

Some places record very heavy rain and observe a monthly surplus, while the others witness less rain and are deficient. 

The Market Watch writes on August 7, 2015: 

While the weather bulls had driven soybeans to rally by $1.40 per bushel from mid June to mid July, reduced yields that many expected may not be coming to pass. While beans have since retraced some of their July gains, we feel the clock is running out for bean bulls and that further upside will be limited. This sets up a potential opportunity for short-sellers as harvest approaches in September.

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PVP Ventures Ltd informed BSE that a Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on August 14, 2015, inter alia, to consider and approve the Unaudited financial results of the company for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. 

The scrip today closed at Rs.7.31 up 19.44% in the BSE and a tad below the Upper Circuits of Rs.7.34 (BSE). The share-price of the company has under-performed the market since the last 3-4 months; however again Rs.9.5-10 again coming before "Durga Pooja". What to do with this scrip? Join the Paid Service.....

Veer Energy and Infrastructure Ltd: On an Exponential Upmove...

The main Business of the Company is to create infrastructure development facilities for the installation of Wind Turbine Generator. As one of the pioneer in this field, Veer Energy and Infrastructure Ltd (Rs.4.40) is very well positioned to take advantage of ever increasing demand for the renewable energy resources.

This is another company like Karuturi Global Ltd which will see the fruits of its new initiatives. The scrip should cross Rs.7-8 by the end of CY2015--remain invested.

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Karuturi Global Ltd (Rs.4.99), the world's largest cut rose exporter from India, is now almost at a 3-year high and is threatening to break Rs.7, on the upside in the coming days, due to expected improvement in its fundamentals. The way the company is trying to revamp its operations makes me feel that it will slowly move towards its all time high of ~Rs.38. 

Therefore, accumulate the scrip on all declines, for immediate targets of Rs.7 and Rs.9.5--don't sell the scrip in a hurry!!

Tata Steel Ltd: One Should Not Try To Catch a Falling Knife

Tata Steel Ltd could fall further as more and more cues are suggesting that China the world's second largest economy and the largest consumer of base metals is headed for a slowdown. 

Moreover, Narendra Modi government is yet to bring up policies which could shore up the bottomlines of the steel companies in India. 

In fact hereto, the Narendra Modi government has done precious little to stem the tide of steel-imports, from China, South Korea, Russia, etc. 

Most of the leading steel companies are reeling on deep debts. For example, as on end-March, Tata Steel’s consolidated net debt was Rs.69,000 crore. That of JSW Steel was Rs.36,000 crore. 

What is interesting in the case of JSW Ltd is that, despite consistently rising revenue and operating profit, the company has not been able to significantly cut debt. On the other hand Tata Steel, the country’s oldest in the sector, has taken timely non-cash impairment charges, sold non-core assets and even refinanced its loans.

India's steel imports had jumped around 70% to over 9 million tonnes in the year to end-March, with a surge of cheaper purchases from China accounting for about a third of the total. Imports soared 55% in April-May. 2015. After months of lobbying by its largest steelmakers, India last month raised duties on some steel imports by up to 2.5%--which is too little and too later. 

Also, the Narendra Modi government is in dilemma as regards steel imports and more duty increase could potentially harm the bottomlines of smaller producers according to a report published in the Reuters. The analysis says that:

"Steps by India to protect its large steelmakers from a flood of cheap imports could end up closing scores of small, local firms that process the metal, industry analysts and executives said. These processors currently buy imported steel at up to 20 percent below India's pricier, domestic steel, turning it into finished steel products for industrial use".

This has virtually left very options for the Modi government, to protect the larger domestic players in the steel sector. 

Meanwhile, there some news in the media that Tata Steel Ltd may be forced to further reduce assets in its Europe business, hurt by continued challenges due to adverse currency volatility and surging Chinese imports in India. Tata Steel Europe has already put its long products business on the block and is narrowing down its focus on more profitable and promising business divisions in Europe like its strip business while moving away from continuously loss-making units.

However, some smaller steel companies, who are taking new initiatives, like Rohit Ferro Tech Ltd (Rs.6.53), could see some improvements in their share prices.  

DO YOU KNOW?

Rohit Ferro-Tech Ltd (Rs.6.53) earlier informed the BSE, that Company's Factory at Haldia, Purba Mednipur, was under suspension of work from July 01, 2015. The Suspension of work was mainly on account of the following reason:

Substantial gap in Tariff of electricity by the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (WBSDCL) and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). For the Company's Haldia Plant, the Company have to procure electricity from WBSEDCL, whose rates are 30% higher compared to DVC and as a result the Company is incurring huge losses.

This a good news for the shareholders, as the company might now think of procuring electricity from DVC instead of WBSDCL. The scrip should slowly move towards Rs.8-9.5 in the coming days--remain invested.

Rolta India Ltd: On a path of Recovery

Moneycontrol.com writes on July 29, 2015: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has selected 10 companies who can file expression of interests (EoI) for futuristic infantry combat vehicles by October 2015. This will replace the Sarath BMP, which has been existing since past 10 years. 

The seven year old project is worth Rs.60,000 crore and includes large players like Tata Motors , M&M , Tata Power SED, L&T and smaller players like Titagarh Wagon , Rolta Limited, Pipavav Defence , Bharat Forge and Punj Lloyd.

Meanwhile, there were media reports that India’s Rolta Power Pvt Ltd and China-based Zhenfa New Energy Science and Technology Co Ltd have teamed up with a plan to install at least 2 GW of solar power capacity in India by 2020.

The two companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct and capitalise on joint engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) opportunities in India’s solar power industry, they said in a press release on Tuesday.