Tata Steel not to acquire plants in near future : Ratan Tata

Jamshedpur, Mar 3(UNI) Tata Steel Chairman Ratan Tata today reiterated that the acquistion of Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus was a right step towards becoming a global steel giant and both the companies will formally merge in April next.

Speaking to mediapersons, Mr Tata, who came here on the occasion of Founder's Day celebrations of Tata Steel, said though the bid for Corus appeared to be a little high priced, the acquisition of the company was done keeping an eye towards future.

''The 19 MT company is a big brand name in Europe and we share same value systems. The boards and the managements of both the companies have unanimously supported the merger,'' Mr Tata clarifed.

He said the decison on the equity structure of the comapany would be finalised in an Extraordinary General Body Meeting (EGM), slated to be held on March 7.

Talking about the company's future plans, Mr Tata said, ''Acquistion is not for increasing the size of the company but for strategic need. At present we are concentrating on completion of the green field projects and expansion of our Jamshedpur plant.'' Mr Tata said his company was focussing on completion of its green field projects in India and overseas instead of acquiring more plants in the near future.

The progress of the grienfield projects in Chhattisgarh and Orissa were satisfactory while they were awaiting for the government clearances for the Jharkhand project.

About the Bangladesh project, Mr Tata said Tata Steel would set up steel,fertilizer and power plants in that country but waiting for the government's approval after the elections.

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