By Our Correspondent
TOKIYO/NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan, on his Japan visit, on Friday held discussions with the top steel producers of the country. The Minister highlighted the investor-friendly steps taken by India recently, like reduction in corporate tax, bettering Rank in Ease of doing business, tax incentives for new companies and new investment. He called upon the Japanese Steel industry to be part of the growing Indian story.
Pradhan met with Masayuki Hirose, Vice President, JFE Steel Corporation, Japan’s one of the largest Steel manufactures. JFE also has a strong research division involved in research and development of innovative technologies for the Steel industry in an environment friendly way. JFE has a long association with Indian Steel Sector and is keen to expand its presence in India.
The Minister told JFE VP that India is one of the best investment destinations with a large market, rising demand and highly supportive business environment. He invited JFE to expand its footprint in India.The Minister also met Katsuhiro Miyamoto and Taisuke Nomura from Nippon Steel Corporation’s Global Business Development team. Nippon is amongst the largest steel makers in the world, providing products for construction sector, automobiles industry, locomotives, and shipbuilding etc.
Pradhan said that India has a largest market with a growing economy and steel consumption. Nippon is enthusiastic to expand its investments in India. He invited them to bolster their presence under the Make in India initiative of Modi Government and participate in India’s growth story.
Pradhan met with representatives of Daido Steel Co Ltd in Tokyo. Daido is one of the world’s largest speciality steel manufactures, also dealing in high-performance materials, magnetic materials, parts for the automobile industry and industrial equipment. Daido Steel has good presence in India through its joint ventures and various subsidiaries. During the meeting, ways to further strengthen cooperation through technology transfer and sharing of best practices to make the Indian Steel industry become more cost-effective were discussed.
