State-owned NMDC on Monday said it expected a 40 per cent hike in the prices of iron ore supplied to Japanese steel mills under a long-term pact in next fiscal ahead of preliminary talks with the foreign manufacturers scheduled for Wednesday.
“I am expecting a 40 per cent hike in the rates of iron ore we supply to Japanese steel firms under the long-term contract for 2010-11. Preliminary discussions with them will start day after tomorrow,” NMDC CMD Rana Som told reporters here.
Under the long-term arrangements with Japanese mills, Som said he expects prices of iron ore lumps and fines to settle at $110-a-tonne level and around $85 a tonne, respectively. At present, NMDC supplies iron ore lumps to Japanese mills at around $71 a tonne and iron fines at $61 a tonne. Iron ore prices had almost halved during the global economic slowdown.
On response of investors to its recently concluded Further Public Offer (FPO) he said, “It is very good...Selling about 33 crore shares in three days is overambitious...Retail investors bought equity worth around Rs 800 crore.” The$2-billion FPO of the Navratna firm was subscribed 1.25 times, backed mainly by state run financial institution LIC.