OREANDA-NEWS. Toyota Tsusho Corporation (headquarters: Nagoya City; President: announces that it has agreed to acquire a 20% stake in Malaysian silica sand mining and refinement company Terengganu Silica Consortium Sdn.Bhd.

Toyota Tsusho currently trades approximately 550,000 tons of silica sand annually, equal to approximately 50% of the Japanese market. The Company owns stakes in Australian silica sand mining and refinement companies, and the new investment marks an expansion into the Asia and Oceania mining business. This is the first silica sand mining investment by a Japanese company in Malaysia.

In addition to Japanese customers, silica sand from the Malaysian mine is expected be supplied to Taiwanese, Korean, and other Asian and Oceanian customers. Combined with its current business, Toyota Tsusho's silica sand trading volume in Asia and Oceania will expand to approximately 2 million tons annually (the Asia and Oceania market is estimated at 5 million tons annually).

Silica sand is used as a raw material for manufacturing a wide range of industrial goods, from glass and molds for cast metal to semiconductors and walling. Demand in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian nations has shown stable growth. Securing a third mining resource in Malaysia to supplement the existing production at two Australian companies will ensure that Toyota Tsusho can continue the stable supply of this important raw material and expand sales.

Additionally, by securing this third source, Toyota Tsusho plans to expand into sectors in the middle of the silica sand value chain in collaboration with business partner Tochu Corporation.