Japan's JFE to integrate Thai flat-product ventures

Japan's second-largest integrated steelmaker, JFE Steel, together with Japanese steel trader Marubeni-Itochu Steel and Thai hot-rolled coil producer Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) have decided to integrate their cold rolling and coated steel ventures in Thailand around October 1 this year, the Tokyo-based steelmaker announced on May 27.

The two ventures to be integrated are Thai Coated Steel Sheet (TCS) and Thai Cold Rolled Steel Sheet (TCR), both of which are majority owned by JFE Steel Group. As is usual in such announcements, in a statement JFE emphasized that merging the two Thai businesses would create "synergy effects"