New Delhi: Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) will invest Rs 5,400 crore over the next two years for capacity expansion and acquisition to fuel growth of the company, its Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal announced on Wednesday. Around 90 per cent of the investments will be made through internal accruals, Jindal said, while addressing a press conference after a board meeting of the company. At present, the company owns and operates two manufacturing facilities at Jajpur in Odisha and Hisar in Haryana, having a combined melting capacity of 3 million tonne per annum (MTPA).

The company will go ahead with three strategic investments worth about Rs 5,400 crore to achieve global leadership in the stainless steel industry, Jindal said, adding that the proposals have been approved by the board of the company. It includes increasing the company's melting capacity by over 40 per cent to 4.2 MTPA at an investment of more than Rs 700 crore, he said. The company has also set aside around Rs 1,900 crore for the expansion of its downstream lines at its plant in Jajpur, and earmarked Rs 1,450 crore towards infrastructure upgrade, such as railway siding, sustainability-related projects, and renewable energy generation, Jindal said.

As part of the the third investment proposal, JSL will acquire a 54 per cent equity stake in Chromeni Steels Pvt Ltd (CSPL), which owns a 0.6 MTPA cold rolling mill located in Mundra, Gujarat, through a structured indirect acquisition deal, he said. The proposal entails an outlay of about Rs 1,340 crore, comprising a takeover of existing debt of Rs 1,295 crore and a balance of Rs 45 crore towards equity purchase, the MD said. As per additional information provided by the company, JSL will acquire 54 per cent stake from Tsingshan Group of China. The MD also said the company has entered into a joint venture (JV) with a Singapore-based company for developing and operating a stainless steel melt shop in Indonesia with an annual production capacity of 1.2 MTPA. Executive Director & Group CFO Anurag Mantri said, "The alternate route of production in Indonesia will help mitigate raw material risks. We will finance these investments through a combination of internal accruals and debt, while closely monitoring leverage ratios." Jindal Stainless is the country's largest stainless steel player and among the top 10 entities globally.