Indias Tata Steel wants to re-enter Phl mart

MANILA, Philippines - Steelmaker Tata Steel is looking at re-entering the Philippines by setting up an office to handle sales transactions here, an official said.

Tata Steel International sales manager for the Philippines Alan Smith told reporters in a chance interview he has been tasked by the firm to check the environment in the country to see if the firm could set-up an office here.

“We’re trying to reopen the market in the Philippines,” he said.

He said he started work here in May by getting deals for the sale of the firm’s steel products.

“We got sales going and we’re making progress, but it’s up to Tata whether to hire good local tech sales guys and girls and open a sales office in Manila again,” he said.

He said the firm used to be present in the country through steelmaker Corus Group.

Faced with competition from steel producers from China and Korea, Corus pulled out of the Philippines in 2006.

In 2007, Tata Steel acquired Corus resulting in the creation of one of the world’s largest steelmakers.

Smith said Tata Steel currently sells steel products to aerospace firms in Baguio including Moog.

He said the firm also provides special steel products to the mining industry here.

As the firm is in the business of selling rails for train lines, he said Tata Steel is interested in some of the government’s planned projects involving the railways.

“We have a special interest on LRT (Light Rail Transit) 1 (extension). I’m interested in MRT-7 as well,” he said.

The P60-billion LRT Line 1 extension project will involve increasing the existing 20-kilometer (km) railway to 32.4 kms.

Through the project, the LRT Line 1 which runs from Roosevelt station in Quezon City until the Baclaran station will be extended until Niog in Bacoor in Cavite.