Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran today mounted a strong defence of Tata Steel's acquisition of Corus in 2007 at the company’s 110th annual general meeting (AGM). Remember, former chairman Cyrus Mistry had alleged that Ratan Tata decided to buy UK-based Corus for more than 12 billion dollars despite reservations raised by some board members and senior executives.
While responding to the allegation on the Corus acquisition, N Chandrasekaran said this was done through a transparent auction process which was a sound business decision at that time – nobody could have predicted the global financial crisis and subsequent slump in the commodities market.
N Chandrasekaran said that all communications with Tata Sons were in line with corporate governance processes.
He states that he was very optimistic on the Indian steel market this year as compared to the last year. The UK steel market may face near-term challenges, but the US and India markets will perform well, added Chandrasekaran.
He further added that rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would boost the GDP growth as it simplifies tax regime for the company.
Tata Steel's domestic capacity is likely to increase to 12.75 million tonnes this year with the ramp-up of the Kalinganagar plant. The company would focus on the specialised products in India and Europe.
Restructuring of the UK business and reduction of the debt will be the key focus areas for the company. The UK business restructuring and discussion over the British Steel Pension Scheme are likely to be completed soon.
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