Nippon Steel and Baoshan soon to sign agreement for joint venture

Nippon Steel and Baoshan soon to sign agreement for joint venture

Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel is expected to sign a final agreement with Chinese steel producer Baoshan Iron and Steel Group over a joint venture for steel sheet production to automotive industry. The agreement is anticipated to be signed next month. Due to the Sars disease and settlement of details of agreement, the deal could not finalized by the end of last year, as initially scheduled. Currently, Nippon and Baoshan are holding negotiations about financing requirements and partnership certificates in the joint venture, including Arcelor. Nippon and Baoshan are considering to construct a cold rolled coil plant in Shanghai. The plant is scheduled to initiate production in 2005 and will have an annual capacity of 1.8 million tons. About 450'000 tons of the total production will be surface-processed for automotive use and the balance is used for automobiles, electric appliances and construction materials. Furthermore, Shanghai Baoshan has already ordered zinc coating equipment from Nippon Steel.