Nippon Steel Decided to Buy Out Southeast Asian Steel Mill

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Leading Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corporation announced plans to purchase a steel mill in Southeast Asia, in a bid to boost its overseas expansion plans.

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Takahiro Mori, executive vice president, Nippon Steel said that the company is currently engaged in negotiations towards purchase of the steel mill. The deal is likely to involve an electric arc furnace, he added. However the official declined to comment on further details. It must be noted that Nippon Steel had earlier hinted at acquiring or investing integrated steel mills in China and ASEAN countries, as part of efforts to boost its global crude steel capacity to 100 million tonnes.

Alongside, the company has decided to boost capacity at its Indian joint venture with ArcelorMittal SA. Additionally, it is currently building an electric arc furnace at its joint venture with ArcelorMittal in the U.S.

Nippon Steel plans to allocate additional funds to invest in magnetic steel sheet production- a market that is expected to register stronger than expected growth on account of global decarbonisation efforts.

The company had recently lifted its annual profit outlook for 2021, triggered by robust demand and high steel prices.