HBIS Group, based in North China's Hebei Province, has signed a deal with a subsidiary of Indian steel giant Tata Steel to acquire 70 percent of the latter's steel assets in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
A Chinese analyst said that the deal will help HBIS in the all-important Belt and Road initiative (BRI) markets.
"The deal is another significant achievement in international production capacity cooperation by a Chinese steel company. It will further boost HBIS' global competitiveness," Wang Guoqing, research director at the Beijing Lange Steel Information Research Center, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The deal signed on Monday with TS Global Holdings Pte, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, is reportedly worth $327 million.
"As two world-leading iron and steel groups, with different strengths, development strategies and asset portfolios, the cooperation with Tata is well-grounded," HBIS said in a statement on its website.
HBIS has overseas assets worth about $10 billion, with more than 70 subsidiaries abroad, according to the company's website.
Figures provided by Wang show that Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore together account for 37.7 percent of steel exports for Chinese companies in BRI markets.
Investing abroad will also be important in the deal as China has relentlessly moved to reduce overcapacity in the steel sector, Wang said.
HBIS said it will seek to forge a complete iron and steel industrial chain. The chain will range from raw materials and steel production to processing and customer service across the region, the company said.
The two groups will explore partnership in other areas as well, its statement said.
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