Kobe Steel Ltd. and Angang Steel Company Limited established a joint venture called Kobelco Angang Auto Steel Co. Ltd. in China on August 1 to produce and sell advanced cold-rolled high-strength steel sheet for automobiles. The two parent companies signed an agreement on October 17, 2013 to form the joint venture.

They subsequently undertook the necessary incorporation procedures to set up the new company. After receiving approval from the Chinese government, Kobe Steel and Angang were able to establish Kobelco Angang Auto Steel. Kobelco Angang Auto Steel will construct a continuous annealing line with a production capacity of 600,000 tons per year to make cold-rolled high-strength steel with a tensile strength of 590 MPa or higher.

Angang will supply the joint venture with the substrate coils. Plans call for production to begin in early 2016. Total investments are anticipated to reach CNY 1.75 billion.