OREANDA-NEWS. April 22, 2011. Nippon Steel Corporation (president: Shoji Muneoka; hereinafter referred to as “NIPPON STEEL”) and Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation (president: Qilin Deng; hereinafter referred to as “WISCO”) have agreed to establish a joint venture named “WISCO-NIPPON STEEL Tinplate Co., Ltd.” in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China for the manufacture and sale of tinplates.

With the population increases and rising living standards notable in new emerging nations, demand for tinplates for food cans, beverage cans, and other containers has been growing on a global basis. Likewise, in China’s mid-western area (the main target area of this project), tinplate demand will predictably gather strength in the future.

We, NIPPON STEEL, setting our sights firmly on our role as a global player, aim to combine and fuse together WISCO’s solid business base in China with NIPPON STEEL’s world-class technology for this joint venture. From this base in Wuhan City, we shall endeavor to catch the growing demand for tinplates, thus also contributing to the economic development of China through the provision of tinplate products.

NIPPON STEEL has long maintained amicable cooperative relations with WISCO (which has top-level scales of production and manufacturing technology in China) ever since the construction of the WISCO’s hot-rolling mill—a project symbolic of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. Once again, taking aim at mutual benefit and equality, we have been working together, and have now obtained approval from China’s governmental authorities to establish this joint venture. Formal procedures necessary for the establishment of this joint venture will soon be taken.

The new company, when established, will be yet another NIPPON STEEL base for local production and marketing, serving the dual purpose of the global development of our tinplate business and our business development in this rapidly growing nation.