China's largest steel maker plans to nearly quadruple capacity to 80 million tonnes by 2012, making it the world's second-largest producer, state press reported yesterday.
Mainly state-owned Baosteel Group Corp (寶鋼集團), which puts out about 23 million tonnes of steel a year, plans to expand in China and overseas through mergers and acquisitions, the China Daily reported, citing an internal company newsletter.
The world's fifth-largest steel group also said it hopes to boost sales to more than US$50 billion a year, with profits exceeding US$5 billion, as it seeks to climb the ranks of the world's top steel companies.
"Baosteel has to increase its output, mainly through mergers and alliances with other mainland companies," said Xu Lejiang (徐樂江), president of Baosteel said in the letter.
Chen Ying, a company board secretary, said closer cooperation with its partners was central to the plan.
"Baosteel will mainly focus on strategic cooperation, including product complementation, with prospective partners. Some other factors like scale of operations, locations and costs are also being considered," Chen told the China Daily.
At annual output of 80 million tonnes, Baosteel would become the world's second largest steel maker, overtaking the top ranked giants at the end last year, Nippon Steel Corp, POSCO and JFE Holdings.
Baosteel would still however lag ArcelorMittal, which last year produced 118 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, said yesterday it would exercise its right to buy out the other owners of Canada's Wabush Mines, jilting an earlier deal they struck with Canadian miner Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd.
ArcelorMittal owns 28.6 percent of Wabush, acquired when it bought Canadian steel producer Dofasco Inc last year.
"This will bring ArcelorMittal closer to its stated objective of 75 percent iron ore self-sufficiency," said ArcelorMittal's head of mining, Malay Mukherjee.
The Luxembourg-based steel maker said it will pay around US$67 million in cash and take on certain liabilities to buy out Wabush's other owners.
They had agreed in June to sell their stakes to Thompson for US$64.3 million and 3 million shares.
But ArcelorMittal had a prior right to buy them out, which it has now exercised on similar terms as those agreed with Thompson.
ArcelorMittal is still being formed as Mittal Steel Co. NV takes over rival Arcelor SA although the two are already operating as one company that controls some 10 percent of world steel output.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
RSS