London: LNM Group, owned by NRI (Non-Residential Indian) steel tycoon L N Mittal, will invest more than $1 billion into its Central and Eastern European (CEE) steel plants to improve their efficiency and lift profitability, a top company official said today (Oct 6, 2004).

"LNM planned to invest in excess of $1 billion in the region over the next three to five years," said Roeland Baan, the company's chief executive for Central and Eastern Europe, speaking at the Metal Bulletin Annual Central and Eastern European Steel Conference in Prague.

The investment will be targeted at moving production at LNM's CEE operations "up the value chain" into higher quality steel products, which carry higher margins.

Baan said the investments would be funded from the company's existing financing facilities. "We are confident that the results of this capex programme will be the emergence of a number of well-run, profitable, higher quality producers across the region that are able to service customers, including those in the automotive sectors."

In terms of acquisitions in the CEE, LNM is preparing to bid in the privatisations of Huta Czestochowa in Poland, and Vitkovice Steel in the Czech Republic, the company said in a release.