On May 1, 2026, Japanese trading giant Sumitomo Corporation announced that it will sell its entire stake in the Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar to AMRI (Ambatovy Mineral Resources Investment), a mining investment consortium. Under the terms of the deal, Sumitomo will not receive any proceeds but will instead pay the buyer approximately US $418 million. AMRI, headquartered in Jersey, is led by Essenwood Partners and Zungu Investments Company.
Sumitomo has been a shareholder in the Ambatovy project since 2005, holding a combined 54.17% stake in nickel miner Ambatovy Minerals SA and refinery operator Dynatec Madagascar SA, with the remaining shares held by Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation. As a result of the sale, Sumitomo expects to book a loss of approximately 70 billion yen (US $447 million) in the April-June quarter of 2026. However, the company said that, taking into account tax effects, the impact on its full-year earnings will be limited.
Shingo Ueno, Sumitomo's chief executive, explained at a briefing that the company had found a buyer with nickel expertise and confirmed that the sale was the best option for the project. The transaction is expected to close by March 2027, and the impact has been incorporated into the company's latest earnings forecast. The Ambatovy project had suspended operations early due to Cyclone Gezani in February and is expected to resume production in the current quarter. As part of the deal, Sumitomo will retain certain off-take rights for some nickel products.
In recent years, Sumitomo has struggled to stabilize output and improve profitability at Ambatovy. According to a company spokesperson, Sumitomo has invested a cumulative US $3 billion in the project and incurred cumulative losses of 400 billion yen.
Written by Cora Ji, jiruyan@mysteel.com
