Ms Rinehart fortune to soar on POSCO deal

Thursday, 26 Jan 2012

Australia's richest person, iron ore magnate Ms Gina Rinehart could see her fortune nearly double to AUD 20 billion after South Korean steel giant POSCO moved to increase its stake in the Roy Hill iron ore project.

POSCO last week announced it would pay KRW 1.8 trillion (AUD 1.5 billion) to raise its interest in the project to 15% by mid 2014.

POSCO the world's third-largest steelmaker, already owns 3.75% of Roy Hill. The deal places an estimated value of AUD 10 billion on the project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Roy Hill is a joint venture between Ms Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting and Posco, which says it is still in talks to finalise the purchase.

POSCO announced its intention to acquire 15% of Roy Hill in 2010 but did not reveal the value of the deal until last week.

(Sourced from ABC/Reuters)

Japan steelmakers' price talks with Korea hit stalemate

Tokyo (Reuters) - Japanese steelmakers' talks with South Korean customers on August-October exports have reached stalemate as a slowdown in the global economy and low-priced exports from China weigh on the market and the yen's strength makes price cuts difficult for Japanese exporters.

Japanese steelmakers are aiming for a price of $750 a tonne for hot-rolled coil for shipments during the three months, but South Korean customers insist on a level closer to $600, citing recent Chinese prices sold to South Korea of $600, two industry sources familiar with the matter said.

That level is similar to a year ago when the region's export market collapsed after China boosted exports ahead of tax changes aimed at curbing exports.

Asia's steel market shows no signs of a turnaround, the sources said, with makers in Japan, China and South Korea boosting exports despite signs of a slowdown in demand growth.

Japanese steelmakers' exports in the first six months of this year totalled 21.54 million tonnes, down only 2.3 percent from the same period a year ago when exports hit a record.

Japanese steelmakers were the world's biggest exporters last year, with Nippon Steel Corp , JFE Steel deriving half their revenues from exports.

Taiwan's China Steel Corp said on Friday the company has started to consider whether to bring anti-dumping suits against Chinese, South Korean and Japanese products, saying low-priced imports are disrupting the market.

Imports of Chinese thick-plate that contain boron particularly show steep import gains, the company told Reuters.

(sourced Reuters)

POSCO, CJ among bidders for Korea Express stake

Fri Mar 4, 2011 6:13am GMT

SEOUL, March 4 (Reuters) - Steelmaker POSCO (005490.KS: Quote) and food and feed producer CJ Group were among the bidders submitting interest for a 37.6 percent stake in Korea Express (000120.KS: Quote) worth around $1.5 billion, sources close to the matter said on Friday.

POSCO said in a statement it had submitted its interest, and a source familiar with the matter said CJ Group had also participated in the first round of bidding for the stake in South Korea's biggest logistics firm.

(Reporting by Hyun-joo Jin and Ju-min Park; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner,sourced:Thomson Reuters)

POSCO and Orissa government yet to renew MoU on steel plant

Friday, 04 Feb 2011

Six months after the expiry of the MoU between POSCO and the Orissa government for setting up a 12 million tonne per annum steel plant, the South Korean major is yet to reply certain queries made by the state government for its renewal.

Mr BK Patnaik state chief secretary told reporters that "Certain queries have been made to POSCO India. But it is yet to respond. Once it is received, there should be no problem in renewing the MoU.”

Mr Raghunath Mohanty steel and mines minister said that "We will renew the MoU with POSCO at appropriate time.”

Official sources said that the tenure of the five year MoU with the South Korean steel major lapsed on June 21, 2010 adding that the proposed project to set up a mega steel plant near Paradip had failed to make much headway.

Sources said POSCO India is reluctant to accept any new clause in the renewed MoU suggested by the state government. It added that the state government, which has decided to reserve jobs for local people in all mega projects, wanted it to be incorporated in the fresh MoU.

According to the government's new job reservation policy, all industries setting up units in the state would provide at least 90% jobs in unskilled category to local people including the families affected by project and up to 60% jobs in semi skilled category. Similarly, 30% of the jobs need to go to local people of the state in supervisor and managerial cadre. However, senior executive posts could be filled from outside the state.

The MoU issue was raised after the Centre on January 31 gave conditional clearance to the POSCO project.(sourced from PTI)

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POSCO selects Halligudi in Karnataka for steel plant

Friday, 04 Feb 2011

Just a day after the environment ministry granted conditional clearance to POSCO for its USD 12 billion Orissa steel project, the South Korean steel major has reaffirmed its India plans with a second proposal.

According to Mr VP Baligar Karnataka principal secretary (commerce and industries), POSCO has selected Halligudi in Gadag district of Karnataka to build its proposed 6 million tonnes plant at an estimated investment of about 32,000 crore.

Mr Baligar said that POSCO has sought 3,000 acres for setting up the plant and has already made the initial deposit with the Karnataka Industrial Development Board towards acquisition of land. The state government will now begin the land acquisition process.

POSCO has already applied for a captive iron ore mining lease with the state government inviting bids for fresh licenses.(sourced:ET)

Asia Coal-Australia thermal coal prices up over $127/tonne

By Rebekah Kebede
PERTH Wed Feb 2, 2011 1:35pm IST
(Reuters) - Australia's thermal coal prices, a benchmark for Asia, climbed to more than $127 a tonne week to date, supported by the ongoing impact of floods in Queensland state on coal supplies.
Thermal coal on the globalCOAL Newcastle index for the week to date was $127.88 per tonne on Tuesday, up from $124.44 a week earlier and up more than $5 from $122.98 on Friday.
"It's definitely very tight. The floods have had their impact, no doubt about it. It's tight on the ground and most people feel it," one trade source said.
"It seems to be tight everywhere - I don't think there are any coal-producing basins globally that are not tight and it's obviously reflected in the price," the source said.
With supplies scarce and the start of the Chinese New Year, however, traders said that actual deals done were few and far between.

"I'm not actually sure how much physical has been done out of there," a Sydney based trader said. "There aren't that many physical tonnes to be traded."
The market was also keeping a close eye on Cyclone Yasi, which was barreling toward Queensland's northern coast and expected to land on early Thursday.
Floods in Queensland have already caused about 5.5 million tonnes of Australian production to be lost, according to a Reuters poll conducted last week.
Although Queensland produces mostly coking coal used for steelmaking, it does produce some thermal coal and any more severe weather could cause further production losses and reduce supplies.

Xstrata has already shut its 6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) Collinsville mine, which produces both coking and thermal coal, ahead of the cyclone. The company is also considering shutting its Newlands mine, which produces 11 mtpa of thermal and coking coal for export.
Supplies from neighboring Indonesia are also expected to be restricted with some Indonesian coal traders have declared force majeure after a trade rule change, with around 60-70 vessels stuck in various ports and 3.5 million tonnes unable to be shipped.
WEEK AHEAD
The market will continue to monitor Cyclone Yasi and watch for impacts to both coal mines and infrastructure. Any further coal disruptions could spark another price rally in thermal coal.
In the wake of the Queensland floods, thermal coal prices climbed nearly 30 percent to over $140 per tonne in mid-January from about $110 per tonne at the beginning of the year.
With supplies tight, market players will be looking for Japanese, South Korean, and Taiwanese utilities to begin looking for supplies later on in the year. (sourced:reuters)

Sundance shares rise as Posco vies to be iron ore partner

By Sarah-Jane Tasker, The Australian

February 01, 2011 12:00AM
Resources' shares rose yesterday after it confirmed that South Korean steel giant Posco was in the race to become its strategic iron ore partner.
According to the junior miner, Posco is one of several companies it is talking to in its bid to advance its massive Mbalam project in Cameroon.
Shares in the company increased 8.79 per cent yesterday to 50c as the overall market fell slightly.
"As previously advised to the market, Sundance has held numerous discussions with a wide variety of international steel mills and potential strategic partners to pursue the Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon and Congo," a Sundance statement said.
"Those discussions have involved, among others, Posco.
"However, as yet no formal agreements have been entered into with any of the various parties currently undertaking due diligence on the Mbalam iron ore project."
According to Sundance, it met recently senior Posco personnel who visited Cameroon, Democratic Republic, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia on a trip sponsored by the Korean ambassador for energy and resources.
Sundance chairman George Jones said the company was close to finalising talks and he was still hoping to announce a strategic partner by the end of next month.
The market is expecting the strategic partner to be Asian, after deals the company announced last year.
Sundance has already signed a memorandum of understanding with China Railway Construction Corporation to study a railway for the Mbalam iron ore project.
A similar deal with China Harbour Engineering Company was also signed, with the company looking at the construction of a port in Cameroon.(sourced:theaustralian.com.au)