Marubeni Itochu Steel Inc announced an agreement with Dawood Engineering (Pvt.) Limited a local manufacturer of automotive parts and components in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to jointly establish a new company in Bin Qasim Industrial Park outside of Karachi City in Sindh Province, Pakistan.

The new company, MID Pakistan Coil Center (Private) Limited will process and sell steel products. The JV contract includes capitalization of USD 5 million (equity breakdown: MISI 74%, Dawood 26%). Operations are scheduled to commence in July 2015 with an annual processing capacity of approximately 70,000 tonnes.

Pakistan, the world’s sixth most populous nation at over 180 million has posted robust economic growth in recent years, emerging as a market generating particularly high hopes for expanded automobile and motorcycle production. Pakistan’s government is promoting Bin Qasim Industrial Park as a key phase of a special economic zone designed to attract Japanese companies to the nation’s shores. Japanese firms in the automobile and motorcycle fields are studying the possibility of carrying out business development in this industrial park.

Pakistan currently does not host any companies along the lines envisioned for the JV so this will mark the launch of the country’s first full fledged steel product processing center. MID Pakistan Coil Center will provide high caliber services through the processing and sales of steel products, meeting the needs of local customers in the automobile, motorcycle, electric appliance and building materials fields as well as the highly diversified demands of Japanese companies slated to expand to Pakistan. The center is expected to make a solid contribution to the ongoing and significant growth of the Pakistani manufacturing industry.

Outline of New Company;

1. Company name: MID Pakistan Coil Center (Private) Ltd.

2. Location: Bin Qasim Industrial Park outside of Karachi City, Sindh Province, Islamic Republic of Pakistan

3. Shareholders: MISI, 74%; Dawood, 26%

4. Capital: USD 5 million

5. Business lines: Processing and sales of steel products

6. Scheduled operations startup: July 2015

7. Equipment overview: One large slitter, one large leveler shear line, and two shearing machines

8. Processing capacity: Approx. 70,000 tons per year