Vinashin and Songsan to Produce Steel

Vinashin has joined forces with Korea’s Songsan Company to form a joint venture to produce steel structures for shipbuilding. The Songsan-Vinashin JV will invest $35m to build a factory in the northern Hai Duong Province. The steel mill is set to come on stream in the second quarter of 2008. The mill is designed to produce steel structures for shipbuilding yards including Vinashin, replacing imported products in the national industry. The ship maker wants 60 percent of its steel to be sourced locally by 2010 from the current 30-40 percent. Vinashin Group said it needs $2.5b to carry out projects under the strategy of $1b in ship exports to 2010. To meet the export target within five years, Vinashin plans to invest in building and upgrading infrastructure of 10 large shipyards to make them capable of building 3,000-10,000 ton ships. It also plans to build seven shipyards, six shipbuilding industrial parks and seven shipbuilding industrial complexes throughout Vietnam. Vinashin will increase its investment and business capital through the Shipbuilding Industrial Finance Company. It will set up a financial leasing company, a securities company, an insurance company, and shipbuilding industrial investment fund to attract domestic and foreign capital sources. Source: Thanhnien