Tata Steel bags order from Malaysian carmaker

Tata Steel has bagged its first international order from Malaysian carmaker Proton.

This was announced at the company's annual general meeting by its chairman Ratan Tata. "We will cater to 5 per cent of Proton's steel requirements," he said.

B Muthuraman, managing director of the company, said the order was expected to rise to 15 per cent in the coming years. He, however, refused to divulge the size of the contract.

For now, Proton will outsource about 3,000 tonnes of automotive-grade steel for the manufacture of internal components of its cars.

Supplies will commence from this quarter.

The Malaysian carmaker's total requirement stands at around 60,000 tonne.

Tata Steel, which supplies steel to Ford India, is now eyeing larger deals from other Ford companies globally. In the last financial year, Tata Steel supplied 100,000 tonne of steel to the domestic automobile industry.

Proton produced Malaysia's first car in 1985. Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Corporation together hold about 16 per cent stake in the company. Mitsubishi also provides technical assistance and components to Proton.