HFCL is the Only Indian Company against which no Anti-Dumping duty has been determined by European Commission on export of Optical Fiber Cables to European countries

HFCL Limited ("HFCL"), a leading technology enterprise specializing in the manufacturing of high-end telecom equipment, optical fiber, and optical fibre cables (OFC), as well as providing communication network solutions for telecommunications, defence, and railway sectors, today announced about a landmark decision made by the European Commission on 14th June, 2024. In the said decision, it was determined that HFCL is the only Indian company not engaged in dumping of OFC in European markets whereas provisional Anti-dumping duty has been determined on all other Indian Optical Fiber Cable Manufacturers in the statement issued by the European Commission. This makes HFCL as the only Indian Optical Fiber Cable manufacturer to have been exempted from anti-dumping duties by European Commission.

The complaint was lodged on 3rd October 2023 by Europacable on behalf of the European industry of optical fiber cables, alleging that imports of OFC, originating from India, were being dumped and were causing injury to the European industry.

The European Commission subsequently conducted an extensive investigation of all relevant Indian OFC manufacturers' products, infrastructure and financial data.

During the mid of November 2023, notices were sent to Indian OFC manufacturers. European Commission requested initial sales data from export producers within a week. Thereafter, Extensive data on manufacturing, sales, exports, and pricing for October 2022 - September 2023 were provided within a month's timeline, as required by the European Commission.

The European Commission then requested data for the previous three financial years, along with detailed records for the investigation period.

Earlier this year in April, all information and data were meticulously verified by European Commission with intensive validation conducted at the premises of all relevant Indian manufacturers by sending its officials to India on multiple aspects to determine whether Indian manufacturers were undercutting prices to sell products in Europe compared to its domestic sales prices on below their cost.

After thorough investigation, the European Commission ruled in June 2024 that anti-dumping duties would not apply to the Indian exporting product of the HFCL Group, which includes HFCL Limited and HTL Limited, as no evidence of dumping was found. Anti-dumping duty was however, levied on all other Indian manufacturers of Optical Fiber Cables against which these manufacturers have legal recourse. This decision of the European Commission has proven transparent and fair business practices of HFCL.

HFCL's products have been preferred by European telecom operators, as they meet the quality, reliability and safety standards, are commercially viable, and guarantee a sustainable supply for the construction of Europe's telecom infrastructure. The Company has been operating in Europe for over a decade and is having long term engagements with some of the leading telcos and ISPs in many countries of Europe.

Mr. Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director, HFCL, said, "This decision is a huge achievement for us and speaks volumes about the trust that we have garnered globally for our fair-trade practices and transparency of processes. We have always focused on delivering high-quality, flexible and cost-effective solutions, backed by our commitment to innovation and excellence in the telecommunications industry. We firmly believe that this decision will enable us to play a central role in Europe's digital transformation."

Anti-dumping laws are usually put in place to shield domestic industries from unfairly priced imports.

In the past, the Europe had imposed anti-dumping duties on OFC imports from China in November 2021 to ensure that the domestic industry was not weakened by unfair trading practices and could compete on an equal footing. Subsequently, the European Commission tightened these measures further in August 2023 by doubling its anti-dumping duties on optical fibre cables from China, following an investigation which found that Chinese exporters were attempting to hinder the effects of the original measures. Similar investigation was carried out on Indian companies and Anti-dumping duty has now been determined on all Indian Optical Fiber Cable manufacturers except HFCL and its subsidiary HTL Limited.

Shares of HFCL Limited was last trading in BSE at Rs. 117.80 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 112.25. The total number of shares traded during the day was 10369701 in over 41612 trades.

The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 120.20 and intraday low of 111.40. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 1214504504.00.

Source : Equity Bulls

Keywords

HFCL INE548A01028 OnlyIndianCompany EuropeanCommission NoAntiDumpingDuty