Muscat: Omani steelmaker Vulcan Green Steel’s ambitions to supply low-carbon steel products into the heavily regulated European market has received a significant boost following a decision by EU regulators to greenlight the acquisition by Vulcan’s parent group Jindal Steel of India to acquire a leading Czech steel mill.
Vitkovice Steel, a Czech producer of rolled steel products, announced recently that its acquisition by Indian steel conglomerate Jindal had been given the all-clear by the country’s Office for the Protection of Competition. In effect, Vitkovice Steel is now 100 per cent owned by Jindal Steel International, an SPV of Jindal Group.
In addition to marking Jindal’s debut into the European steel market, the transaction also effectively clears the way for its wholly-owned Omani subsidiary Vulcan Green Steel to export its low-carbon steel products into Europe.
Vulcan Green Steel is currently constructing a 5 million tonnes per annum capacity steel mill at the Duqm SEZ, powered primarily by green hydrogen and other renewable energy sources. Total investment in the Duqm venture, which is expected to commence operations in 2027, is about $3 billion.
Last June, Vitkovice Steel, based in the Czech city of Ostrava, signed an agreement with Vulcan Green Steel to secure around 1 million tonnes of low carbon steel slabs per annum upon the launch of the Oman project. The goal, it said at the time, was to pioneer the production and supply of low carbon rolled steel market quality sheets, sheet plates and billets into the European market.
Harssha Shetty, CEO of Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel – an integrated steel mill operating in the Omani seaport city of Suhar – welcomed the authorization of the acquisition.
“The steel industry in the Czech Republic is known for its long tradition and Vítkovice Steel has the know-how, quality products, experienced employees and a good reputation as a stable supplier. These are the main prerequisites for long-term cooperation. We see great synergies between Jindal Group and Vítkovice Steel. We want to be a strategic investor and develop and expand production in Ostrava,” he stated.
Radek Strouhal, CEO of Vitkovice Steel, added: “This is a great event for the company and especially for the future. We are convinced that this will strengthen the company and the Czech steel industry. The new industrial owner will bring stability and, above all, development to the company in the form of investments in production technologies, sharing of foreign know-how and moving towards environmentally produced low-emission steel.“
Under the terms of the acquisition, Jindal has also pledged to invest around EUR 150 million in the development of the Czech steel mill. The goal is to expand the capacity of rolled sheets and production of higher added value steel products.
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