India's Tata Steel, the world’s sixth largest steel maker, plans to build a US$3.5 billion integrated steel complex in central Vietnam through a joint venture with Vietnam Steel Corporation (VSC), local and foreign media reported.
The Vietnam government May 18 approved the foreign firm’s memorandum of understanding with VSC on investment in the project.
The Indian giant’s project calls for a 4.5 million-ton steel refinery in central Ha Tinh province, 340 km south of Hanoi. Iron ore for the plant will come from Vietnam’s largest mine, Thach Khe.
Detailed investment information about value from each side has not yet been made available.
“Tata Steel has been looking into opportunities in several countries. Vietnam is a country that we are looking into seriously, as it has both raw materials and potential market,” a company spokesman recently told Press Trust of India (PTI).
In March, NatSteel Asia, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, said it agreed to buy two steel bar rolling plants in Vietnam to tap the fast-growing economy.
NatSteel Asia will pay US$41 million for the plants, including assumed debt, and expects to complete the purchase by June this year.
Earlier, Vietnam Investment Review (VIR) reported that Tata Steel is among the companies the Vietnamese government may choose to develop the Ha Tinh steel refinery. Other heavyweight bidders include China’s Baosteel, Korea’s Posco, Russia’s Evraz and India’s Essar.
Thach Khe deposit was discovered by Soviet and Vietnamese geologists in the 1960s. It has estimated reserves of 540 million tons. (www.upi.com, in.news.yahoo.com, www.thanhniennews.com, VNA)
Vietnamese
