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JEDDAH – Saudi-owned Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited (TSML) aims to start production by the beginning of the fourth quarter and grow to eventually become Pakistans largest steel producer, a TSML executive said on Tuesday.

In its first phase, TSMLs Karachi-based plant is targeted to have a production capacity of 1.28 million tons per year of direct reduced iron, which is used to make steel, Zaigham Rizvi, TSML director of projects, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

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SHANGHAI – A state-affiliated industry group vowed Friday to tighten control over iron ore trading as Chinese steelmakers discussed strategy for contentious price talks with global miners – the backdrop to last months commercial spying and bribery convictions of four Rio Tinto employees.

The China Iron and amp; Steel Association gathered representatives of major mills at a meeting Friday and affirmed its determination to control the iron ore trade, according to Xu Xiangchun, chief analyst at mysteel.com, a Web site that follows the industry.

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AL-KHOBAR – Demand for steel in top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to rise this year by 8 percent with consumption nearing 6.4 million tons, Saudi Arabian Basic Industries (SABIC) said on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabian authorities in 2008 imposed restrictions on exports of steel and scrap metal due to tight supply in the domestic market. SABIC, which controls the kingdoms biggest steel producer Hadeed, said on its website that total production capacity at local plants run at full tilt is about 7.3 million tons.

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RIYADH – The private Saudi-based Al-Tuwairqi Holding Co will start production at a new steel complex in 2010 which would reduce its steel billets imports to nil by next year, a senior company executive said Sunday.

The complex, with a production capacity of 2 million tonnes, will raise to 3 million tonnes the steel billet production capacity of the group, which owns 76 percent of al-Ittefaq Steel Products Co, one of Saudi Arabias three largest steel producers, said Faisal Al-Haddawi, a board member at the firm.

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KOLKOTA – In a bid to reduce cost, ArcelorMittal, the worlds largest steel producer, is to source more equipment from India and China for its greenfield projects worldwide. Disclosing this to mediapersons here on Thursday on the sidelines of the ICT East 2009, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr Pierre Jonette, CEO, ArcelorMittal Design and Engineering Centre, said that for the two proposed projects in Jharkhand and Orissa, the plan is to procure about 80 per cent of the equipment locally. “Equipment not available locally would be sourced from Europe,” he said. In other countries (for example, Brazil), the share of local sourcing would be 60-70 per cent, he observed.

The Design and Engineering Centre here is primarily responsible for making plan layout and designs for all ArcelorMittal projects. “We plan to use India and China as hubs for procuring equipment for projects worldwide without compromising on the quality,” Mr Jonette said, adding, “the idea being to bring down the project cost by 20-22 percent.” The company proposes to source boilers, infrastructure and steel structures from India and blast furnaces, coke oven and sinters from China. The company is in talks in this regard with different vendors in the two countries.

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ABU DHABI: Al-Tuwairqi Group, which owns one of Saudi Arabias top three steel makers, said yesterday it expects the government to end before the end of July a ban on steel exports that has hurt profitability in the industry.

Currently, negotiations for reviewing the ban are taking place on a very high level and hopefully it will be lifted in one to two months time, Al-Tuwairqi Groups Chief Executive Tariq Barlas told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference.

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