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The world's largest steel maker, Mittal Steel Company, has made a long-term commitment to China by setting up a research institute for metals in central Hunan province.
Mittal, who recently acquired a 36.67 per cent share in Hunan-based Valin Steel Tube & Wire Co Ltd., will spend five million US dollars to build the Mittal Research Institute for Metals at Central South University in Changsha, the capital city of Central China's Hunan Province.
"We hope to develop the Mittal Research Institute into a major R&D centre in Asia for our group," chairman and CEO of Mittal Steel, Lakshmi Mittal, said in a statement.
Mittal Steel, which paid $338 million for the 36.67 per cent stake in the Chinese steel company, also said that China is its most important market, and one with the greatest potential.
The deal marks the first time a foreign company has taken a stake in a local Chinese steel firm, China Daily reported.
After the deal with Valin, the new board of Valin Tube and Wire is composed of 15 directors, comprising five each from Mittal and the Valin Group, and five independent directors.
Mittal will transfer six international advanced technologies, including hot aluminium and zinc coated steel plate, high quality wire and rod steel, and high-grade ship-use steel plate facilities to the Hunan-based steel firm, the Chinese newspaper reported.