Malaysia-based Hiap Teck announced that its blast furnace at Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd (ESSB) in Terengganu has resumed production, after a halt of nearly 33 months.
Eastern Steel is principally involved in the manufacturing and selling of a range of steel products using the blast furnace plant. The steelmaker also restarted its continuous casting system which can produce 700,000 mt of steel slab annually.
ESSB was a joint-venture company between Hiap Teck, Orient Steel Investment Pte Ltd and Chinaco Investment Pte Ltd. In April 2018, Hiap Tech proposed to allow a strategic investment by Shanxi Jialong Industry. The new shareholders are Shanxi Jianlong Industry, Hiap Teck Venture and Chinaco Investment. Per reports of the investment structure reported in April, Jianlong holds 60 percent stake in ESSB, Hiap Teck holds 35 percent, Chinaco retains its 5 percent stake and Orient Steel is no longer a shareholder.
Shanxi Jianlong is a unit of the Beijing Jianlong Heavy Industry Group, the seventh-largest steelmaker in China, according to 2017 production data. Hiap Teck Venture Bhd is a steel pipe maker.