China Mulls Moving Tang Shan Steel Mill to Indonesia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - China's state-owned steelmaker Guo Feng Iron is mulling a plan to relocate its Tang Shan mill to Indonesia, with a total investment of $1 billion, the Jakarta Post reported Wednesday.

“The company has visited several countries, including Indonesia, seeking a new location for the plant,“ Ansari Bukhari, director general for metal, machinery, textile and miscellaneous industries at the Industry Ministry said in the report.   Guo Feng's chairman, Zang Zhen, who was visiting Indonesia, said in the report that he had been impressed with Indonesia, and that it would be better suited for steel production than other countries he had visited, including Iran.

If the Chinese company chooses Indonesia, it will form a joint venture with PT Gunung Garuda, the Indonesian steel producer's President Director Jamaludin said in the report. The plant could be either built in Banten, or South Kalimantan, to produce up to 3 million tons of steel annually, the daily quoted him as saying.