Reuters reported that Taiwan's Yieh United Steel Corporation may join three other bidders for Outokumpu's Italian stainless steel plant in a move that would boost its international presence.

The Acciai Speciali Terni plant, one of Europe's most modern, has become available after Finnish stainless steel producer Outokumpu offered to divest it to win competition authority approval for its purchase of Inoxum, the stainless steel arm of rival ThyssenKrupp.

The sources said that executives from YUSCO, one of Asia's largest stainless steel producers, flew to Italy to inspect the Terni mill last week. Should it beat the competition, YUSCO would be the first Asian producer to buy a major stainless steel plant in Europe.

An industry expert said that "It makes sense for YUSCO to buy the plant because Italy is an important market for them and that way they can become more powerful internationally. It would be the first time that an Asian company buys a main European stainless plant. It is significant step as it shows where the centre of power is shifting."

Source - Reuters