Hanoi - India's industrial giant, the Tata Group, has
announced it will set up a 3.5-billion-dollar joint venture with the
Vietnam Steel Corporation to build a steel plant, state-run media
reported Friday.
The general director of Tata Steel Southeast Asia, Indronil
Sengupta, was quoted as saying that the 4.5-million-ton plant will
process iron ore as well as produce finished steel products.
The original memorandum of understanding states that Tata Steel
will hold a 65 per cent stake in the plant and a 30 per cent stake in
the Thach Khe iron ore mine, making this one of the largest direct
investments in Vietnam.
The plant will be built in Ha Tinh province, where Vietnam has
extensive iron ore reserves. The venture will supply steel-hungry
industries, such as ship building factories and construction firms.
'Vietnam is the most significant market for Tata at this moment,
particularly in the production of industrial steel,' the company's
executive director Alan Rosling told the Viet Nam News Agency on
Thursday.
Rosling said that Tata hopes to eventually invest in Vietnam's
chemical, transportation and telecommunication sectors.
Tata is one of India's largest and most powerful industrial
groups, with 96 companies that are engaged in everything from making
cars to developing software.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
Your Talkback on this Story