Participants at `Steel Tech 99, Asian Steel Conference', held here on Thursday felt that mid-term future is bright with both domestic demand picking up and prospects for higher exports are better than the last two years. However, IFC, the World Bank's arm for promoting private sector investments, felt time is not yet ripe for extending any fresh loans or ``cheap'' funds to the industry.

The three-day Steel Tech 99 has been jointly organised by ministry of steel & mines, and SteelWorld, a Mumbai-based steel information consultancy organisation. The conference is aimed at deliberating various issues facing the steel industry in the next millennium.

Steel offtake during the quarter ended September 1999 has improved by around 15 per cent from the same period last year. This growth is likely to continue throughout the first year of the new millennium.

Steel exports are seen crossing 2.10 million tonne this year, up from last year's 1.9 million tonne, but lower than 2.3 million tonne achieved 1997-99 before the financial crisis hit the south east Asian nations.

According to Joint Plant Committee chief economist and member of Steel Exporters' Forum, AS Firoz, ``around 42 million tonne of steel trade is the real potential for India, mainly because India's cost of steel production is much above the cost curve. We are more competitive than some of the other steel proudcers.''

European Union, which turned net steel importer for the first time in 1998, will be one of the most important market for Indian steel exporters, Firoz said. The problem of excess capacity, however, is one of the major hurdle for players in the global steel industry as there is around 100 million tonne of excess steel capacity which has depressed the steel prices.

It is because of these and other reasons, ``time is not yet right to make fresh financial commitments in the industry'', feels IFC's senior manager Gopin N Puri, one of the speakers at Thursday's usiness session.

``We are pleased at the steel industry's growth worldwide and continue to allocate resources to developing nations as it makes good techno-economic sense. There is always a hope that there will be better steel maker at cheaper prices''.

In this connection, asked whether IFC will resort to funding the ailing domestic steel industry with cheap funds, Puri said, ``let the domestic financial institutions (FI) take the lead in this direction. We extend loans at market rates and do not accept any government guarantee while extending such loans''.