. Energy News .




.
TRADE WARS
Nippon Steel, Sumitomo Metal Industries to merge
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 22, 2011

Japan's biggest steelmaker Nippon Steel and third-ranked rival Sumitomo Metal Industries on Thursday announced a merger that will create the world's second-largest steel firm.

The tie-up, which they plan to launch officially on October 1, 2012, will create a steel giant second only to India's ArcelorMittal and generate savings in the face of increasingly intense global competition.

Through the merger, the steelmakers will aim to realign and strengthen a global network "in response to increasing worldwide demand for steel and the local procurement needs of Japanese steel consumers operating overseas", they said in a statement.

They will focus on reorganising and expanding their manufacturing, processing and sales bases in emerging countries, namely China, Brazil, India and Southeast Asian countries.

The new company, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., "will aim to achieve 60 to 70 million tons in terms of global production capacity by further accelerating its overseas business development."

Global competition in the steel industry has intensified in recent years with demand spurred by emerging economies such as China that are undertaking massive construction, infrastructure and manufacturing projects.

Japanese automakers, electronics makers and other companies have also sought to expand production in foreign markets in search of growth, stronger consumer demand and by way of hedging against foreign exchange risks.

"We will aggressively expand our operations overseas," said Nippon Steel president Shoji Muneoka, adding global expansion was vital to a steelmaker's fate in the industry.

"By integrating -- personnel, material and financial capacities -- based on the world's top-level technologies, we can carry out our business much more quickly, widely and effectively than we can alone."

The merger, under the ratio of 0.735 Nippon Steel shares to one Sumitomo Metal share, would be the first in the Japanese steel industry since the creation of the country's number two firm JFE Holdings around a decade ago.

When merger talks were announced in February, industry analysts welcomed the move as a way of helping to stitch together Japan's corporate base.

Nicholas Smith, director of equity research with MFGlobal in Tokyo, said the merger was indicative of the growing need for steelmakers to gain leverage as prices for coal, iron ore and other raw materials of steel touch record levels.

"Increased scale will make them stronger in negotiating with raw material suppliers -- the rapid run-up in material prices had really hammered profitability," said Smith.

"The merger will give Nippon Steel the scale to consider acquisitions of raw material suppliers, like the Chinese steelmakers have done," he said, noting Chinese crude steel production has more than quadrupled in the last 10 years.

Profits in Japan's steel industry were badly dented by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which battered a key manufacturing region and crimped demand -- especially in the key auto sector -- amid power shortages caused by the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In July, Nippon Steel announced a first-quarter net profit of 29.09 billion yen, 8.4 percent higher than the same time a year earlier, but attributed it to a lower tax burden.

At the same time, JFE said its net profit was down 75 percent year on year to 7.12 billion yen ($91.4 million) for the quarter.

Iron ore and coking coal, the two main raw materials for steel production, have seen significant price rises in recent years in a market dominated by the three global mining giants, Anglo-Australian firms BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, and Brazil's Vale.

Nippon Steel was downgraded by both Moody's and Standard & Poor's in June amid concerns over its profitability in the face of rising commodity prices.

The Tokyo-based company produces high-quality steel for use in a variety of sectors globally, with the auto industry a key customer.

Related Links
Global Trade News




 

.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries








. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



TRADE WARS
Obama, Noda vow to push economic growth
United Nations (AFP) Sept 21, 2011
US President Barack Obama held his first talks with Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday, and both leaders pledged to boost fragile global economic growth. The leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Noda replaced the unpopular Naoto Kan as Prime Minister on September 2. "As the two largest economies in the world, we have to cont ... read more


TRADE WARS
S.Korea minister blames blackout on weather, reports

Blackouts hit S. Korea due to high temperatures

Global investment in clean energy hits $243 bn: UN

Brussels seeks more say over energy deals

TRADE WARS
Nigeria army gives oil rebels one week to seek amnesty

Libyan oil needs two years to recover

Iraq eclipses 2010 oil income in eight months of 2011

Philippines seeks ASEAN help to blunt China

TRADE WARS
Japan plans floating wind farm near nuclear plant

First market report on High Altitude Wind Energy

Researchers build a tougher, lighter wind turbine blade

Wind Power Now Less Expensive Than Natural Gas In Brazil

TRADE WARS
Silicon Energy PV Modules Receive ETL Certification

Solar Frontier Surpasses 30MW of Projects in India

Tecta Solar Installs PV System For Blackcomb Solar

OPEL Solar Trackers Are Selected by Conergy US

TRADE WARS
France calls for mandatory international nuclear checks

Despite Fukushima, India bullish on nuclear

Poland presses on with nuclear power debut

China to restart nuclear projects in 2012: report

TRADE WARS
USDA Scientists Use Commercial Enzyme to Improve Grain Ethanol Production

Research offers means to detoxify mycotoxin-contaminated grain intended for ethanol, animal feed

A midway strategy for improving sugarcane ethanol production

Hog waste producing electricity and carbon offsets

TRADE WARS
China to launch unmanned space module by Sept 30

China to launch space station's first module

China launches new communication satellite

Tiangong: Better Late Than Lost

TRADE WARS
Deaths likely to spiral in famine-hit Somalia: aid agencies

Uncertain climate models impair long-term climate strategies

World can beat desertification: UN chief

US sees global discord on climate action


Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News
.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement