Major steelmakers expand investment in China

Major steelmakers expand investment in China

The world's largest steelmaker Arcelor and Japanese steel producer Nippon Steel are planning to invest China. The both companies are in negotiations with Shanghai based Baosteel Group Corp. to construct a $750 million steel plant in Shanghai. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 1.7 million tons of high-end steel. Meanwhile, Japan's biggest steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc. announced that it has doubled its profit in the first half of 2003 as a result of increased sales of high quality steel to automotive and appliance makers in China. JFE Steel Corp which is a unit of JFE Holdings, has agreed to form a joint venture with Guangzhou Iron & Steel to produce steel sheet for automotive industry, as previously reported by SteelOrbis. JFE and Guangzhou Iron & Steel will invest Yen 20 billion (approx. $186 million) for this project.