HYDERABAD, India, May 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

Shri N Baijendra Kumar, IAS, CMD, NMDC participation in the conference elevates NMDC's presence in the international market 

Singapore Iron Ore Week (SIOW), one of the most anticipated conferences in the iron ore and steel industry, has been a renowned platform to discuss and debate the latest industry trends and market developments. This year's SIOW was organised from May 6 to 9, 2019.

Speaking at Iron Ore Week (IOW) at Singapore organized by SCX, Shri N Baijendra Kumar, IAS, CMD, NMDC said that the Steel Production and Demand is expected to grow at a healthy rate of 6-7% plus, whereas the Production and consumption in major countries/regions like China, Japan, EU are likely to stagnate in the near future. Government of India's push on infrastructure, housing, etc. would ensure that targets of steel policy 2017 would be achieved. Per capita consumption of steel, steel production capacity are increasing in line to meet the NSP targets of 300 million tonnes by FY31.

Shri N Baijendra Kumar said, "Currently $14-15 bn investment is underway in the Steel sector that would substantially increase steel-making capacity. NMDC is fully geared to meet the increased iron ore demand and is investing in mines and evacuation capacity for augmenting capacity to almost double in the next 3-4 years."

It was the first time that a CEO of an Indian company participated in panel discussions in such a prestigious international event. On the side lines of the event, during the round table conference of CEOs, Shri N Baijendra Kumar, IAS mentioned that his experience of having worked as a senior bureaucrat in Chhattisgarh Government, which is a difficult terrain to mine and where the company's big mines were situated, had helped him immensely to as CMD of NMDC. He mentioned that it is important for a mining company to take care of the local community and his focus has been on the same since he took over the helm of NMDC. He agreed with Ms. Cynthia Carroll, Former Chief Executive Officer of international giant Anglo American that environmental protection, social initiatives and compliance regimes are key to success of any mining company. He mentioned that NMDC has won the Platts award for CSR last year and had been shortlisted for the same award again this year. He also mentioned that NMDC would be happy to participate in such global events on a regular basis so that visibility of the company improves and investor confidence is generated. He agreed with most peers that NMDC has largely not been visible in the world community and recall is much less than should be keeping in view its commendable financial and physical performance. He assured that he would take personal initiative to communicate and interact with the global steel and iron Ore community and investors so that NMDC gets the respect and recall it deserves.

On the sidelines, he also assured that NMDC is fully geared up to take over any mine that may be offered to it in any state of India, in the eventuality of any disruption in allocation of mines through auction to be held next year in India.

About NMDC

NMDC is India's largest producer of iron ore and 10th largest in the world. It has the best quality ore, with highest Fe content, in the world and more than adequate reserves to cater to India's enhanced needs. NMDC operations are comparable to the best in the world and on several indices like cost of production, employee costs, its performance is comparable with international giants like Vale, Rio Tinto, FMG, etc.

It has also excellent track record on Environmental Protection, Social responsibility and Regulatory compliances. Indian ore is cheaper by 50-55% than imported ore, which gives the Indian steel industry a great competitive advantage. NMDC is also exploring the opportunity to export its tailings from Bailadila sector as current international prices of ore would make it feasible and profitable to do so.

Media Contact:
Mr Jayprakash
pjprakash@nmdc.co.in
+91-9989009883
NMDC

Hari Prasad
hariprasad@conceptpr.com
+91-9618883774
Concept Public Relations