By Alex MacDonald
LONDON--ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's largest steelmaker, said
Wednesday that its automotive steel joint venture with China's
Valin Group is due to start operations in mid-2014 following the
launch of the joint venture's steel brand and an accelerated
construction period.
ArcelorMittal entered into two joint ventures with Valin Group,
one of China's top 10 steelmakers by output, in 2008 as part of its
push to gain a foothold in China, one of the world's top
steel-consuming nations.
The Luxembourg-based company last year decided to increase its
stake in Chinese automotive joint venture Valin ArcelorMittal
Automotive, or VAMA, to 49% from 33% as part of its quest to gain
greater exposure to the Chinese automotive-steel market, which is
expected to grow at a fast pace as China's economy makes the
transition to consumption-led growth from infrastructure-led
growth.
VAMA will produce high quality automotive steel products based
on a continuous pickling and cold rolling mill annual production
capacity of 1.5 million tons, followed by a continuous mixed
annealing line with a production capacity of 1 million tons
annually. It will also have a continuous hot dip galvanising line
with a capacity of 0.5 million tons.
The joint venture plans to sell its products domestically with a
view to supporting local automotive markets.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com