Hunan Province-based Chinese steel producer Valin Steel has recently announced that it is about to build a new production unit for 180 mm diameter seamless pipe at its subsidiary Hengyang Valin Steel Tube Co. Ltd. The investment for this project totals RMB 1.676 billion ($245.46 million), with the construction expected to take 24 months.
China's seamless steel pipe market has been registering growing demand over the past several years, especially for oil pipe, high-pressure boiler pipe, alloy steel pipe, and other special-purpose pipes, with annual growth generally above 25 percent. About 40 percent of total demand locally is focused on pipes with specifications between 114 mm and 180 mm, and Valin's new unit will produce seamless pipes in this specification range. Valin currently has two pipe production units: an 89 mm diameter pipe unit and a 340 mm diameter unit.
Additionally, Valin Steel has also reported a Q3 net profit of RMB 298 million ($43.64 million) in its Q3 financial report, but has still suffered a loss of RMB 225 million ($32.95 million) for the first nine months of this year. The producer estimates that its loss for the whole of 2009 will reach RMB 220 million ($32.22 million).