In a press release issued by its Duisburg-based headquarters, the company said the joint venture, Shanghai Krupp Stainless Co Ltd (SKS), is designed to produce 440,000 tons of stainless steel strip and sheet annually with a total investment of US$1.4 billion.

The first implementation phase at the Shanghai-located SKS will go into operation in November this year, and the second phase involving the installation of a second cold rolling facility and an annealing and pickling line will more than double production capacity to 166,000 tons, the press release said.

Thyssenkrupp's investment in China is taking place against the background of an extremely attractive market environment, and the volume of business there for stainless steel flat products has risen to around 1.4 million tons each year with continuingly strong growth rates, it said.

Although China's domestic production has risen too, 70 percent of the demand for stainless steel flat products is still covered by imports, which means the best possible prospects for SKS in the future, Thyssenkrupp said.

Thyssenkrupp controls 60 percent of SKS and the Shanghai Pudong Iron & Steel 40 percent. SKS will be fully operational by 2006.

(xinhua 05/21/2001)