Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. said Thursday they plan to merge by Oct. 1, 2012, creating the world's second-largest steelmaker in terms of crude steel production capacity.
The biggest and No. 3 steelmakers in Japan are expected to take advantage of the merger to enhance their domestic bases and competitiveness and jointly explore overseas markets to counter fast-growing Chinese steelmakers and catch up with the world's leader, ArcelorMittal, which is based in Luxembourg.
"We would like to integrate business resources to accelerate our global strategy," Nippon Steel President Shoji Muneoka told a news conference. "The two companies could combine their production bases at home and abroad to create a global production and sales network.