RUSAL plans supply contracts with 7-8 major Chinese partners
MOSCOW. Nov 13 (Interfax) - United Company RUSAL (UC RUSAL) plans to sign supply contracts with seven or eight major Chinese consumers along the same lines as Norinco or to look for partners for joint upstream projects, Artem Volynets, the Russian aluminum giant's strategy and corporate development manager, told Interfax.
RUSAL said earlier this month it had signed a deal with China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) to supply 1.68 million tonnes of aluminum in 2010-2016.
"By signing the Norinco contract we took the first step forward, setting a new trend in the Chinese market and altering their business philosophy. This market was balanced, but now import is on the up," Volynets said.
Volynets said 80% of RUSAL's production capacity was in Asia and that its core assets were approximately 500 kilometers from the Chinese border, so transport costs and delivery time would be minimized. "It will cost $15 to ship a tonne of aluminum from the port of Vanino to Shanghai for example," he said.