Naveen Jindal, founder of Jindal Steel (JSPL), is on the cusp of building a massive steel empire with a combined annual capacity of 14-16 million tonnes. He currently owns a portfolio of end-to-end steel assets across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, including mines, steel units, and downstream value-added steel facilities. His next target is to acquire Italy’s Acciaierie d’Italia, the largest steel plant in Europe, for a proposed investment of €2 billion.
Jindal’s private companies, Vulcan Minerals and Vulcan Steel, operate a coal mine in Mozambique, an iron ore mine in Cameroon, and a steel plant in Oman, with plans to set up a green steel plant in Duqm. His son, Narendra Kumar Misra, has stated that their plan is to transform the former Ilva plant in Italy into one of the leading and largest producers of low-carbon steel in Europe.
The proposed Italian acquisition, if successful, would make Jindal one of the largest steel czars in the world, alongside Lakshmi Mittal and Sajjan Jindal, head of JSW Steel. Jindal’s private venture, Jindal Steel (International), is among the favorites to win the bid for the entire operations of Acciaierie d’Italia.
However, this expansion raises concerns about the potential conflict of interest and how it may affect the minority shareholders of JSPL. Some experts have questioned the wisdom of promoting company resources and bandwidth on unlisted companies, citing a potential disservice to the listed company and its investors.
Jindal’s green energy plans, including his power arm Jindal Power, are also significant, with a focus on renewable energy and green hydrogen production. The company has plans to set up 2 GW of thermal and 5.4 GW of hydro power projects in India and Africa, and 650 MW of thermal power assets in Africa.