Algerian Premier Minister Abdelamalek Sellal confirmed yesterday, September 17, that the Algerian state will take control of global steelmaker ArcelorMittal's majority stake in local steel producer ArcelorMittal Annaba for a symbolic one dinar.
The Algerian government currently holds 30 percent of the company through the state-owned group Sider, while the remaining 70 percent is under the control of the world's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal. Sider is expected increase its capital investment in the company, instead of making any financial transfer.
In January 2012, the country's former prime minister, Ahmed Ouyahi, had promised that the state would intervene in order to save the El Hadjar steel complex of ArcelorMittal Algeria. One month later, ArcelorMittal agreed with an Algerian state-owned bank for a credit line of €140 million to finance a development plan which would allow it to increase its production capacity. However, ArcelorMittal Annaba announced a loss of $33 million in 2012, while the steel production of the company in 2012 amounted to just 580,000 mt, far short of the goal of 700,000 mt decided in 2011 and far from the one million mt reached before the privatization of the company in 2001.
ArcelorMittal Annaba, located 12 km south of the city of Annaba, is currently the largest integrated steel plant in the Maghreb region. It has a steelmaking capacity of 2.0 million metric tons a year. The plant has its own captive iron ore mines located in Ouenza and Boukhadra under the name Mittal Tebessa.
ArcelorMittal Annaba's finished product range includes hot rolled and cold rolled coils and sheets, hot dip galvanized products, tinplate, wire rod, rebar and seamless tubes. With a strong hold on its domestic market, the company also exports output to other Maghreb countries, Europe, the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia.