India’s top steelmaker, JSW Steel Ltd, has said it is scouting for more deals in the US and Europe to expand its global footprint, betting that vibrant growth will underpin demand in overseas markets and complement a boom at home that has seen the mill ramp up local output.
“What is driving us is that, inherently, we find it is an interesting opportunity, because the US economy is doing well” and the investment cycle looks positive, joint managing director Seshagiri Rao said in an interview.
After meeting half its target for 9 million tonnes of capacity overseas, the steelmaker is now looking to buy more facilities, Rao said in Mumbai, India.
While the global industry has been roiled this year by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on some flows of steel into the world’s top economy, mills are still enjoying benign conditions.
Worldwide production last month hit a record as capacity utilization climbed, according to the World Steel Association.
Against that backdrop, Mumbai-based JSW has been busy: After announcing a move to triple output at its Texas plant, it snapped up another US facility in Ohio, taking total planned investment in the country to US$1 billion.
For Rao, the commercial lure is not dependent on the trade moves, which he said are transitory.
“The US economy — notwithstanding the trade remedial measures which the US government has taken — is quite buoyant, demand is picking up,” he said on Tuesday. “It is not because tariffs were introduced in the US or somewhere else, that is why we wanted to invest.”
JSW Steel shares have soared more than 60 percent over the past year, aided by record output and profit.
To meet local demand, the company plans a US$6 billion capacity expansion in India.
Last month, it made an acquisition in Italy, and it has another purchase awaiting approval from India’s company law tribunal.
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