Matteo Renzi, Italian prime minister, and Enrico Rossi, president of the region of Tuscany, held talks at the weekend with JSW Steel chairman Sajjan Jindal, as the Indian giant considers investing in some of the country's steel assets. The focus of the talks was the issue of industrial policy and investments in Italy's steel sector. The main subject was Piombino, Tuscany-based Italian steelmaker Lucchini which was declared insolvent in 2012 and has since been placed under special administration. JSW Steel is interested in buying Lucchini and believes that it would serve as a bridgehead for the group in the European market.
"We discussed many subjects and the Piombino steel plant was the main discussion point. I hope we will help Piombino return to its old days of glory with a new industrial plan and Mr. Rossi is very committed to this," Mr. Jindal noted after the talks. The Indian tycoon said his goal would be to process steel at the Tuscan port city of Piombino, where Lucchini has most of its assets, by the end of the year, Tuscany president Enrico Rossi told reporters.
"Hope, commitment and competitiveness were the three key words of the meeting," said Mr. Rossi. The crucial steps would be those involving an imminent reopening of the steel mill where steel coming from JSW Steel would be processed. Then, within three months, or at the beginning of 2015, there would be a plan with the presentation of a new hot area for the return to steel production within two years. Rossi said that, in exchange for his commitment, Jindal has asked that the Italian side carry out their program signed last April regarding the revamp of the Piombino facilities, the cleaning up of polluted areas, the expansion and improvement of port facilities, and the supply of energy.
"I think we can talk of a big step forward," said Piombino mayor Massimo Giuliani. He continued, "From what I know, the presence of Jindal should not be a temporary presence, but we are allowed to think that JSW wants to help turning on the hot area and to turn Piombino into a modern strategic hub for the production and the processing of steel."
The original offer of Jindal, made on July 14, had been described as "disappointing" by Lucchini special commissioner Piero Nardi and by the Monitoring Committee of the Italian Ministry of Development. At the end of August, Nardi flew to India in order to seek an improvement in Jindal's offer in terms of both its economic and employment aspects.
