SAIL sees FY13 capex at $2.9 bln-chairman

State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd will spend about 145 billion rupees on capital expenditure in the next fiscal year, up 15 percent from the current year, adding 5 million tonnes of capacity, its chairman said.

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The company's annual production capacity is expected to rise to 19 million tonnes by the end of the fiscal year that starts in April, Chairman C.S. Verma said at the Global Steel 2012 Conference on Friday.

SAIL, the country's largest domestic steelmaker, expects local demand for steel to grow 7 percent in the fiscal year to end March 2012, with prices remaining stable.

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"We will revise steel prices once coking coal prices stabilises," said Verma. The company raised prices by 15-20 percent after coking coal prices trebled in the current fiscal year, he added.

Margins at India's top steelmakers have been under pressure during the December-quarter because of slowing investments by end-user industries, higher interest costs and foreign exchange losses on import of raw materials.