Nippon Steel Corp. said Monday it has won an order from major Chinese steelmaker Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. for facilities to produce steel sheet for automobiles.
The order requires Japan's largest steelmaker to build continuous hot-dip zincing and annealing facilities, with respective production capacities of 450,000 tons and 950,000 tons a year, at Baoshan's No. 4 cold-rolled steel plant.
Nippon Steel said it won the order in fierce competition with major Japanese and European rivals.
While the company did not disclose the value of the order, industry analysts estimate it at around 10 billion yen.
Meanwhile, general trading house Mitsui & Co. said the same day it will form a joint venture in China with Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp. to create a nationwide distribution network for steel products.
The joint company will be capitalized at about $12 million, with 35 percent put up by Mitsui and the remainder by Shanghai Baosteel. It will have a core processing and distribution center in Shanghai.
The number of automobile and appliance plants in China is on the rise.