MSTC to e-trade cement, iron ore

Company expects Rs 4,000 crore turnover from e-commerce this year

State-owned MSTC Ltd, a diversified trading and e-commerce company, is planning to launch cement and iron ore trading on its electronic auction platform in a month.

"After successfully introducing coal, steel and scrap trading, cement and iron ore fines were the next logical targets," said Malay Sengupta, the CMD of the company on the sidelines of Asian Steel Conference in Mumbai on Friday. The two-day seminar was organised by Sanket Trade Fair, a Mumbai-based publication group.

Currently, the 'Mini Ratna' enterprise facilitates trade in coal, steel scrap and ferro manganese for about 14,000 existing clients.

The company generated a total revenue of Rs 3,200 crore from e-trading last year, and is expecting a turnover of Rs 4,000 crore from electronic trading this year.

Last year, the company handled a total 23 million tonnes of coal, largely from Coal India Ltd, steel scrap worth Rs 1,400 crore and manganese ore valued at Rs 40 crore.

"We do not require any special permission to facilitate trading in any new commodity on our platform. This makes the job easier for us to introduce any product of our choice which has a huge potential, he added. Without revealing names, Sengupta said MSTC was in talks with some government and private agencies to handle deliveries of iron ore. For cement, the trade would be confined only to private companies, he added. Underlining the potential of e-trade, Sengupta said that it was a good tool for price discovery and transparent trading.

The platform also ensures risk-free delivery for customers.

The company has set a net profit target of Rs 70 crore on a total turnover of Rs 10,000 crore this financial year from alll trades compared with Rs 60 crore from a turnover of Rs 8,000 crore last year, respectively.

The company hopes to achieve the target on the rising prices of metals and mining products coupled with the introduction of new commodities for trading.

Last year, the company imported scrap worth Rs 5,000 crore and HR coil valued at Rs 300 crore. But thsi year imports are likely to decline because of a change in import pattern from bulk cargo to container cargo.