China’s Baosteel inks deal with Saudi Aramco for steel plate factory

Logo of Saudi Aramco

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. (Baosteel), China’s biggest listed steelmaker, said today, Sept. 8, it had signed an initial pact with the world’s top crude oil producer Saudi Aramco to study building a steel plate factory in Saudi Arabia.

In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Baosteel said the companies planned to carry out a feasibility study on building a plant to make heavy steel plates, which are widely used in the construction industry.

Going international and building steel plants overseas has always been part of Baosteel’s long-term strategy, the company said.

According to data compiled by Argaam, Saudi Aramco announced, on Sept. 7, the signing of 22 new memoranda of understanding (MoUs), in addition to a joint venture agreement, including an MoU with Baosteel, to conduct an engineering study and develop the necessary plans to build, own and operate an integrated manufacturing facility steel plates in the Kingdom.

On Nov. 30, 2020, Aramco signed a similar MoU with POSCO from South Korea, to cooperate in evaluating the feasibility of establishing an integrated plant for the manufacture of steel plates in the Kingdom.