ZHEJIANG Yongjin Metal Technology Co. will invest 1.81 billion yuan (US$276 million) to build a precision stainless steel processing project in the south of the country, a company spokeswoman said late Tuesday.

The project in Yangjiang City in Guangdong Province is scheduled to launch by the end of 2020, producing high-quality stainless steel strips with an annual capacity of 680,000 tons.

Zhejiang Yongjin and its two subsidiaries, Jiangsu Yongjin and Fujian Yongjin, currently have a combined production capacity of 1.58 billion tons of steel.

“The new capacity will be close to our major market of Foshan City in Guangdong, and also close to our raw material supplier, Guangdong Guangqing Metal Technology Co.,” the spokeswoman said.

Guangqing, a joint venture created by Tsingshan Holding Group Co. and State-backed Guangdong Guangxin Holding Group, has annual nickel-alloy production capacity of 300,000 tons and stainless steel billet capacity of 2 million tons.

Last month, Yongjin and Guangqing signed a cooperation agreement on hot-rolled stainless steel coil supply, but did not reveal the details of the contract.(SD-Agencies)