Arcelor, Nippon Steel & Baosteel form a joint venture

Arcelor, Nippon Steel & Baosteel form a joint venture

The world's largest steelmaker Arcelor has signed an $800 million agreement with Japanese steel producer Nippon Steel and Chinese steelmaker Baosteel Corp. to construct a new steel plant in Shanghai to supply flat steel to the Chinese automotive sector. The plant will have a capacity of 1.7 million tons of flat carbon steel per year. Baosteel will hold 50% of the joint venture, while Nippon and Arcelor will own 38% and 12% respectively. The plant which will begin to supply flat steel in the second quarter of 2005, will produce cold rolled steel, galvanized steel and pure zinc galvanized steel.