RINL seeks proposals to fund working capital in exchange for steel supply

In a first, state-owned RINL is exploring a business model wherein it will supply finished steel products to companies which will either fund its working capital or supply one or more raw materials

In a first, state-owned Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) is exploring a business model wherein it will supply finished steel products to companies which will either fund its working capital or supply one or more raw materials.

RINL has invited expressions of interest from companies which have interests in steel and steel-making raw materials to partner with it for the supply of steel.

In the notice, RINL said that the potential partner may participate by way of supplying one or more key raw materials like coking coal /BF coke, iron ore, and in turn take steel products as per mutually agreed terms and conditions.

The potential partner may fund working capital and in turn, take steel products as per mutually agreed terms and conditions.

The notice stated that the interested party must be in the business of steel making or raw materials used in the manufacturing of steel. The last date to submit the EOIs is April 15, 2023. The EOIs will be accepted through both physical and online modes.

RINL, under the Ministry of Steel, owns and operates a steel plant with an annual capacity of about 7 million tonnes (MT) located at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

RINL's Vizag steel plant is the country's first shore-based plant where the company manufacture various special products besides structurals, wire rod coils, rebars etc. The company also manufactures forged wheel for Indian Railways at its plant in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on January 27, 2021, gave its 'in-principle' approval for 100 per cent disinvestment of government stake in RINL, also called Visakhapatnam Steel Plant or Vizag Steel, along with RINL's stake in its subsidiaries/joint ventures through strategic disinvestment by way of privatisation.

While the government is trying for the strategic sale of RINL, the trade unions are opposing the privatisation move. Earlier this year, they had put forward a proposal for merging the company with the state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), but the Finance Ministry rejected the idea citing the New Public Sector Enterprise (PSEs) policy.