Steel trader Steelinvest and Chinese producer Delong Steel have established a joint venture (JV) to market mill export sales.
The venture, Ziming SG Global, will be located in Dubai and headed by Fred Hayrapet of Steelinvest Group.
The company will focus on semi-finished and finished steel across long and flat products. Hayrapet told Argus the company will focus on markets where Chinese steel is welcomed, in response to a question on the increasing trade barriers facing the country's exports. The JV aims to scale up to 5mn t/yr of exports over time.
Delong has a production capacity of 30mn t/yr across 11 mills, five of which are fully integrated, and intends to "increase the export efficiency and global marketing" of its production through the organisation. It also holds a majority stake in Indonesia's Dexin Steel Group, which has recently started exporting hot-rolled coil into some major markets, such as Europe, as well as slab.
Steelinvest currently markets more than 3.5mn t/yr of steel and raw materials.
