Hoa Phat Group completes acquisition of Australia’s Roper Valley iron ore mine

Vietnamese steel maker Hoa Phat Group today announced that it has taken over the Roper Valley iron ore mine project in Australia.

The acquisition marks Hoa Phat’s official foray into the world largest iron ore supply market. Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has approved the deal.

Accordingly, the Roper Valley iron ore mine project is estimated to have 320 million tonnes of reserves, with a mining capacity of four million tonnes per year.

Hoa Phat will continue to research purchasing other new iron mines in Australia to ensure a long-term supply of at least 50 per cent of its iron ore demand (equivalent to 10 million tonnes a year).

The raw material that constitutes up to 30 per cent of the steel price is coking coal, which is currently imported from Australia – the world’s largest coking coal supplier market. The group is also studying to buy some Australian coking coal mines in the future to gradually become self-sufficient in this important production material.

Hoa Phat is a leading industrial manufacturing group in Vietnam. Originally set up as a construction machine and equipment trading company in 1992, Hoa Phat has gradually expanded its business to trading and production of furniture, steel pipe, steel, refrigeration, real estate, and agriculture.

Steel production is its core business line accounting for over 80 per cent of the revenue and profit of the group. With a total capacity of over eight million tonnes of steel, Hoa Phat is the largest manufacturer of construction steel and steel pipes in Vietnam with a market share of 32.5 and 31.7 per cent, respectively.

By Thanh Van