Davos WEF 2022 | Tata Steel's TV Narendran Hopes Export Duty Is A Short-Term Measure

Tata Steel Ltd.'s TV Narendran hopes India's export duty on steel is a short-term measure to cool inflation as the nation has a big opportunity that it shouldn't miss.

China, Japan, and South Korea, the countries that are traditionally big exporters, are moving away from export markets and rightly so, Narendran, managing director and chief executive officer at Tata Steel, told BQ Prime's Menaka Doshi on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. "India has the raw materials."

"Russia and Ukraine, which also have raw materials like India, are also out of the export markets," he said, referring to the disruption caused by the conflict. "So, it’s a 100-150 million tonnes opportunity for India as a potential steel exporter which we shouldn’t miss."

Narendran said the measures to control inflation are just a "speed breaker in the journey" and doesn't indicate a "bad cycle" for the sector. Provided, the duty is a short-term measure, according to him.

"I’m okay in the short term to deal with inflationary concerns. But in the medium to long term, exports should be a very important part of our steel production strategy."

Export curbs globally haven't hurt demand, Narendran said. "Because of these actions, [commodity] prices are coming down," he said. "If there has been a delay in projects because of high prices, then hopefully they will come back, and demand should look better."

• Tata Steel will continue with ongoing capital expenditure, despite levy of export duty.

• Long term capital expenditure planning will depend on approach of government's approach on exports in the long run.

• Decarbonisation is a complex process to implement in India. Need to work with government to bring gas to plants in eastern India which currently operate on coal.

• Tata Steel, on group level, will achieve net zero goal by 2045.

• No major impact on of energy crisis on Tata Steel.

• After acquisition of Neelachal Ispat, Tata Steel can more than double its capacity in India.

Watch the full conversation here:

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