Nippon Steel to Hike Steel Sheet for Building Materials while Open CGL Plant in Thailand

Nippon Steel aims to complete price hike negotiation of steel sheet for building materials within June. The firm’s offer price is currently higher by 2,000-3,000 yen per tonne than the large-lot users’ bid price. The price gap is narrowing. Nippon Steel had announced price hike offer by 20,000 yen per tonne in April. Nippon Steel will continue price hike talks with some users for high value added products in and after July.

Nippon Steel announced on Friday the firm established Nippon Steel Galvanizing Thailand (NSGT), a hot-dip galvanizing steel sheet producing subsidiary in Thailand. NSGT will construct a continuous galvanizing factory and produce hot-dip zinc alloy coated steel sheet for automobiles, starting operation in 2013.

NSGT’s capital fund is US$ 118 million (approximately 9.5 billion yen), wholly invested by Nippon Steel. The capital expenditure totals approximately US$ 300 million. The production capacity is projected at 360,000 tonnes per year.