Kobe Steel Opens Headquarters in Shanghai
06/01/2011 - Kobe Steel held an opening ceremony at its China headquarters, Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd., in Luwan District, Shanghai. The wholly owned subsidiary has been operating since April.
Kobe Steel, Ltd. held an opening ceremony at its China headquarters, Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd., in Luwan District, Shanghai. Kobe Steel's Executive Vice President Hiroaki Fujiwara, Senior Officer Hiroya Kawasaki, and about 200 guests were expected at the event.
Kobelco (China) Holding is claimed by Kobe Steel to be the first headquarters established in China by a Japanese blast furnace steelmaker. The wholly owned subsidiary of Kobe Steel, capitalized at US$50.14 million, has been operating since April. Its first investment project was equity participation in Wuxi Compressor Co., Ltd.
The main activities of the headquarters are investments, mergers, and acquisitions; centralized financing and cash management; strengthening group governance and risk management; and supporting group companies in China.
Kobelco (China) Holding was established in January and has 11 employees.
In its materials segments, the Kobe Steel Group has three companies in China for steel wire rod processing; three for the production and sales of welding consumables; and one for copper sheet processing. In the machinery field, Kobe Steel has two units that assemble construction machinery and one that makes standard compressors. In total, Kobe Steel currently has 35 companies in China, of which 16 are consolidated subsidiaries.
Under Kobelco Vision "G," Kobe Steel has been accelerating its business development in China. It has set up a venture for aluminum forgings, increased production of hydraulic excavators and standard compressors, plans to manufacture crawler cranes, and is entering the non-standard compressor business. On April 1, Kobe Steel launched a Chinese-language website (www.kobelco.cn).
