India to be net exporter; optimistic of 2017 growth: Tata Steel

Tata Steel Managing Director TV Narendran is optimistic of 2017 being a better year for the Indian steel industry than 2016 on back of increase in government expenditure on infrastructure. This year demand growth is likely to be between 5 and 6 percent growth and expect at least a similar growth number for next year.India currently exports 700,000-800,000 tonnes of steel and will be a net exporter soon because India already has raw materials and efficient producers, says Naredran.Demonetisation did not have any direct impact on the company because almost all the transactions of Tata Steel are electronic. However, some of their customers from auto industry were hit, says Narendran in an interview to CNBC-TV18 from the sidelines of World Economic Forum at Davos. According to him, US steel market was disappointing in 2016 in terms of consumption but China and Russia were not as bad as expected by the World Steel Association. Going forward too, both the Chinese and US governments have promised to spend more on infrastructure, so steel consumption is expected to go up.South East Asia is the most exciting region after India for steel consumption, says Narendran.