Tata Steel borrowing limit at Rs 50,000 cr

Before this,the company had the mandate to borrow up to Rs 40,000 crore.

According to the filing,90.41 per cent shareholders approved the proposal to increase the borrowing limit.

However,a chunk of institutional shareholders,who hold 9.50 per cent stake in the company,voted against the proposal.

According to the filing,institutional shareholders in total hold 23,36,78,884 shares or 42.81 per cent stake in the Tata group firm.

As on December 31,2011,Tata Steel had a net debt of Rs 50,528 crore,which includes a part of the loan taken by the company to acquire UK-based steelmaker Corus in 2007.

“Taking into consideration the requirements to meet the cost of the company’s greenfield projects in India,and investments in raw materials projects globally… It is expected that the limit of Rs 40,000 crore sanctioned by the shareholders will not be adequate,” Tata Steel had said in its postal ballot notice to the shareholders.

Last year,the Tata group firm had raised about Rs 4,977 crore through a follow on public offer and bond issue.

The company is rolling out several expansion plans,including a new 6 million tonne steel plant at Kalinganagar in Odisha.

Besides,its Jamshedpur facility will also be adding 2.9 million tonne new capacity,that is slated for commissioning soon. Post-commissioning,its total production capacity will become 10 million tonne per annum.

For the current fiscal,the company has kept a capex of USD 2.5 billion (about Rs 12,500 crore),out of which USD 800 million (about Rs 4,000 crore) will be spent on the upcoming Kalinganagar plant.

The company will also spend USD 600 million on its European operations and about USD 400-500 million on its Jamshedpur plant.

In the October-December quarter,the company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 602.67 crore,its first quarterly loss in more than two years,largely due to Rs 741.70 crore write down on inventories of raw materials and finished goods,especially in Tata Steel Europe.

Shares of the company were being traded at Rs 478.40 apiece on the BSE at 1405 hours,up 1.39 per cent from the previous close.