S&B eyes growth in China
Mining company S&B has signed an agreement with Chinese steelmaker Angang Industry to set up a joint venture producing metallurgical supplies in a bid to boost its market share in the Asian country, the Greek company said yesterday. S&B said its Korean subsidiary Stollberg and Samil signed the 30-year joint venture agreement involving the construction of a new plant by the final quarter of 2010 that will produce metallurgical fluxes (chemical cleaning agents). The joint venture’s total investment will reach 6 million dollars (1.06 million euros), of which 1.5 million dollars is S&B’s direct share. «This new joint venture represents a further step toward securing and increasing our market presence in the largest and fastest-growing steel market in the world,» said Efthimios Vidalis, CEO of S&B. Angang is one of China’s 10 largest steelmakers with a 4 percent share of the country’s total steel industry market, S&B added.