Notice Concerning the Establishment of a Joint Automotive Steel Pipe Venture in India

Sumitomo Pipe & Tube Co.,Ltd (hereinafter, Sumitomo Pipe & Tube) and Sumitomo Corporation (hereinafter, Sumitomo Corp.) hereby announce that they have reached an agreement with Hyundai Hysco Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Ulsan, South Korea; hereinafter, Hysco) the largest steel manufacturer in South Korea, to establish a joint manufacturing and sales venture in India for automotive steel pipe.

1.Reason behind the establishment of a joint venture

India's automotive industry is expanding rapidly thanks to the strong economic growth. With this, demand for automotive steel pipe is expected to expand, with significant growth particularly anticipated for stainless steel exhaust pipes, steel pipes for front forks, door impact beams and other high strength steel pipes as a result of tighter environmental restrictions and the growing demand for safety enhancements.
With a view to filling the growing demand for automotive steel pipe in India, Sumitomo Pipe & Tube and Sumitomo Corp. have considered starting an automotive steel pipe business in Chennai, Tamil Nadu State in the southern part of the country, where automotive industries are concentrated. Now we have reached agreement with an Indian subsidiary of Hysco (Hysco Steel India Private Limited) that owns land in Chennai to establish a joint manufacturing and sales venture for automotive steel pipe. 
The joint venture plans to start manufacturing at the end of 2012, targeting Japanese automobile manufacturers, Hyundai Motor Company, the largest automobile manufacture in South Korea, and European and American automobile manufacturers.
Sumitomo Pipe & Tube and Sumitomo Corp. will aggressively seek overseas expansion, with a view to responding to overseas demand for steel pipes.

2.Profile of the joint venture

  Name:   Automotive Steel Pipe India Private Limited
  Address:  Chennai, Tamil Nadu State
  Business description: Manufacturing and sales of automotive steel pipe
  Capital:  Approx. 400 million rupees (approx. 700 million yen)
  Investment amount: Approx. 2 billion rupees (approx. 3.6 billion yen)
  Shareholder composition: Hysco Steel India Private Limited 55%
                                                   (100% by Hysco)
                                                   SPT & SC Investment Co., Ltd.   45%
                                                   (74.8% by Sumitomo Pipe & Tube, 25.2% by Sumitomo Corp.)
  Main facilities: 2 electric resistance welded tube mills, 2 draw benches,

                               1 heat treating furnace, 3 quenching machines and other equipment

  Production items: Electric resistance welded pipe (carbon steel, stainless steel) and

                                     cold drawn steel pipe
  Production capacity: Approx. 4,000 tons/month
  Number of employees: Approx. 350
  Land area:  51,600 m2
  Factory area:  25,800 m2
  Establishment date: August 2011 (scheduled)
  Production starts: End of 2012 (scheduled)