02 June 2004 17:12
RUSSIAN STEEL MERGERS DEPEND ON GLOBAL MARKET TRENDS
MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) - Mergers and acquisitions in Russia's steel industry depend on global steel market
trends, Alexander Abramov, president of EvrazHolding, the country's biggest steel company, said at the second
metallurgy summit in Moscow.
The process in Russia differs fundamentally from the process in
most other countries. In Russia, a limited number of people own and
"Acquisitions and mergers should not be expected when a positive cycle does not give way to a negative
one," Abramov said.
manage metallurgical companies, and mergers and acquisitions directly depend "on the ability of selected
individuals to reach agreement," Abramov said.
He also said Russian metallurgy could lose its competitive
advantages in the next five to ten years if new primary commodity
Abramov also said the Russian steel industry had to contend with several problems, among them product and raw
material sales.
Exporting capital might be the best way to enter new markets. "Entering new markets aided by the penetration of
capital into companies or their acquisition, and the creation of all manner of partnerships and alliances is a serious
task," Abramov said.
EvrazHolding, for its part, could not say how much steel it would
produce in the future owing to the instability of the steel market,
In this situation metallurgists would welcome support from the Russian government. Major companies are having a lot
of difficulty obtaining licenses to move capital abroad, Abramov said.
markets are not found at home and abroad.
Russia and Brazil are the only countries producing steel at $120 a tonne today, Abramov said.
Abramov said.
"We are even reducing production right now because the market is saturated," he said.
EvrazHolding controls the West Siberian, Nizhny Tagil and Novokuznetsk steel mills and the Nakhodka Commercial
Seaport. The company produced 13.83 million tonnes of steel in 2003.
[Interfax] |
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