As revealed by insiders at both Hebei Province-based Chinese steel producer Jinxi Iron and Steel and the world's largest steel company ArcelorMittal, the two parties have now entered into the final stage of negotiations on a cooperation program to set up a joint venture in Hebei Province for the construction of a steel sheet pile production facility, and are expected to reach an agreement as early as the end of the current month.
The joint venture between Jinxi Steel and ArcelorMittal will mainly produce steel sheet piles which are generally used in construction projects, especially in building foundations and in coastal irrigation projects. In the past few years, Japan and Europe have been indicating strong demand for this kind of product.
Jinxi Steel is expected to take the controlling share in the new company, while ArcelorMittal will supply the relevant technology.
In 2009, China imported 200,000 mt of steel sheet piles, significantly up from 50,000 mt in 2008, but still less than half of Japan's consumption for the product. Therefore, market insiders think that China has potentially very strong demand for steel sheet piles.