Well executed capacity expansion plans and good earnings growth has propelled public sector utility company Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) to outpace its rivals including private players such as Tata Steel and Hindustan Zinc. Investment bankers say that Indian steel companies are undervalued and most attractive investments and SAIL is ranked above all its peers.

As the largest steel company in India, SAIL plans to nearly double its capacity to 22.5 million tons (mt) over the next five years with an investment of Rs 35,000 crore (USD 7.6 billion). SAIL has control over 40 years of iron-ore supply through the rights over Chiria mines but is also actively looking for coking coal mines overseas