Hong Kong: Japanese steel giant JFE Holdings Inc. and a Chinese steel company have agreed to jointly invest 6.3bn yuan ($833m) to build a plant in south China, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Saturday.The new mill, which will take two and a half years to build, will meet rising demand from automobile, appliance and construction firms at home and in southeast Asia, the official newspaper said.
Japan's second-biggest steel maker and Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Group will build the 1.8 million-tonne-a-year coal-rolled steel sheet plant in the southern city of Guangzhou.
Foreign steel makers have been trying to expand in mainland China to meet booming demand in the country, the world's biggest steel producer, importer and consumer.
POSCO Co. Ltd., the world's fourth-largest steel maker, said late last month that its joint venture with a Chinese steel maker had opened a $660 million cold-rolled steel plate plant in China.
Guangdong, an industrial powerhouse, consumes about 10 million tonnes of cold-rolled steel sheets a year, half of which are imported, while the other half comes from domestic producers outside of Guangdong, the newspaper said.
The province's demand is expected to hit 14 million tonnes a year by 2010, it added. [07/08/07]
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