JSW Steel Ltd has decided to strengthen its focus on rural market.

To get deeper into the rural market, Mr. Sajjan Jindal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Steels, said that the company, which has already opened 60 retail outlets through franchisee route, is planning to take it upto 600 outlets allover India by the next two years.

While talking to media persons at a seminar organized by NMDC in Hyderabad on Monday, Mr. Sajjan said that the company’s overall exports figure accounted for 40% of its production.

A top representative said that steel major Tata Steel is confident of saving 600 million pounds ($831 million) between October 2008 and March 2009 from the operations of its UK-subsidiary, Corus.

Tata Steel bought the Anglo-Dutch company Corus in October 2006.

The company had launched a cost-cutting programme in 2008 in order to save this amount to bridge over the economic disaster.

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies, one of the world's leading engineering and plant-building companies for the iron and steel industry, has won an order worth euro 200 million from public sector Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

The order is for public sector steel major SAIL's upcoming new steel mill, which will be built at the company's Bhilai unit.

For the latest awarded contract, Siemens VAI will engineer and supply three LD converters with a tapping weight of 180 tons.

The three-way battle to control Orissa Sponge Iron and Steel Ltd has taken a new turn with Bhushan Energy Ltd's decision to offer 330 rupees per share for 20 percent stake in OSLS against Monnet Ispat's offer of Rs 310.

Other players including BNS Steel Trading Pvt. Ltd, BBN Transportation Pvt. Ltd, BNR Infotech Pvt. Ltd and BNR Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd are also in the race to acquire stake in the firm.

The Bhubaneshwar-based Orissa Sponge holds captive iron ore and coal mines. The company is witnessing battle between Bhushan Power, Monnet Ispat and Bhushan Steel in the past one week. The final winner would be declared on May 13 for the offer opening on April 24, according to information available from Bombay Stock Exchange.

McNally Bharat Engineering bagged an order worth Rs 116 crore from state-run Steel Authority of India for a water supply system project at its Burnpur plant.

The company stated in a release that, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), IISCO Steel Plant, Burnpur, West Bengal has accepted the company`s offer for water supply system for CCP and BOF for a total price of up to Rs 115.92 crore inclusive of tax and duties.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 18 months.

India's largest steel company, Tata Steel hopes early recovery of normalcy in steel market, the worst hit segment due to decline in auto sales and customer spending, under the impact of global slowdown and recession like conditions across the world.