Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element said on Sunday it had agreed a $1 billion co-operation deal with China's state-owned North Industries Corporation (Norinco) that will include construction of a rolling mill in Russia for metal production.
The deal will also allow the world's largest aluminium producer Rusal, which is majority owned by Basic Element's subsidiary En+Group, to expand its aluminium exports to China by selling to North United Aluminium, a joint venture between Rusal and Norinco, Basic Element said in a statement.
Rusal will also consider an option to buy Norinco-made anode production equipment for its Taishet aluminium smelter which is under construction in East Siberia, the statement said.
The announcement coincides with a visit to Russia by Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who is expected to succeed Wen Jiabao as premier early next year.
"Basic Element (BasEl) and Norinco plan to boost the value of their ... co-operation to over $1 billion," the statement said. The rolling mill will be built on the premises of En+Group's metal plant at Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, it said.
"This agreement represents another step forward in the development of our economic relations with China, one of the most strategically important markets for Russia," Deripaska was quoted as saying in the statement. Rusal is the world's largest aluminium maker, producing about 4 million tonnes of aluminium and 8 million tons of alumina last year.
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