Vietnam’s leading steel maker – Hoa Phat Group – and Kyoei Steel Group of Japan shared the wish for long-term cooperation in steel billet and scrap steel supply.

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Hoa Phat said Kyoei Steel Chairman Hideichiro Takashima and General Director Hirotomi Yasuyuki had paid a working visit to the group, which has opened up many cooperation opportunities for the bilateral collaboration.

According to Takashima, Kyoei Steel Vietnam Co., Ltd (KSVC) in Vietnam’s northern province of Ninh Binh purchased about 5,000 tonnes of steel billets produced by Hoa Phat each month. The volume is expected to multiply in the time ahead.

Kyoei was one of the first Japanese investors in Vietnam 25 years ago, with the establishment of the Vina Kyoei Steel joint venture in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau in January 1994.

Kyoei wants to seek a stable supply of steel billets for its subsidiaries in Vietnam, comprising Vina Kyoei and the KSVC which was set up in September 2011, he said.

Chairman of the Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh Long emphasised his firm’s consistent policy of long-term cooperation with partners, adding that Hoa Phat wants to cooperate with Kyoei in scrap steel supply.

The two sides agreed to set up a working group following the visit to implement their cooperation contents, thus helping to promote the development of both groups in the future.