Korea's SeAH joins hands with Saudi Aramco on special steel

South Korea’s steel conglomerate SeAH Group has tied up with Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's energy giant, to accelerate its expansion in the Middle East.

SeAH Changwon Integrated Special Steel Corp., the group’s special steel maker SeAH Besteel Corp., said on Monday it has established the joint venture SeAH Gulf Special Steel Industries (SGSI) with Aramco.

In September of last year, SeAH Changwon agreed on an investment of $230 million to jointly set up a seamless stainless steel pipe production plant with Aramco-owned Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur), the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

They completed the JV establishment after reporting the integration to six authorities including those in South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the European Union and China.

The factory is to be established in King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a new megaproject under construction and located between Damman and Al-Ahsa in Saudi’s Eastern Province.

The JV is scheduled to begin building the factory, with an annual capacity of 17,000 tons, in the fourth quarter of this year with a target of commercial operations from the first half of 2025.

SeAH has already been expanding its presence in the Middle East as four products such as stainless steel tubes manufactured by its subsidiaries were approved by Aramco.

“We will actively explore the Middle East market with various products such as stainless steel precision tubs and seamless stainless steel pipes,” said a SeAH Changwon official.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.