Lakshmi Mittal too keen to acquire Visakhapatnam Steel Plant

New Delhi: Gujarat-based ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (ANMS India), a part of Luxembourg-headquartered ArcelorMittal, is planning to bid for state-owned steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), which has already attracted the interest of domestic giant Tata Steel, according to a source.

"AMNS India is exploring this option," the source in the know of the development said, while replying to a question that if the company would be interested in disinvestment-bound RINL.

An email query sent to AMNS India remained unanswered.

In a tweet on Thursday, AMNS India informed that industrialist Lakshmi N Mittal, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, is meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. The company did not elaborate on the reasons for the meeting.

ArcelorMittal is planning to expand its operations in India through brownfield and greenfield routes. AMNS India is a 60:40 joint venture company between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel of Japan. VSP is a Navaratna PSE under the Union Ministry of Steel and a special steel making company with a production capacity of 7.3 million tonne (MT) based in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Tata Steel CEO and MD TV Narendran has recently said his company was interested in acquiring RINL, as the plant is strategically located on the eastern coast, and its acquisition will give it more access to the South East Asian markets, where the company already has a presence.

On January 27, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given 'in-principle' approval for 100 per cent disinvestment of government stake in RINL, along with the company's stake in subsidiaries/joint ventures through strategic disinvestment by way of privatisation.