S&C Advises China Oriental Group on Joint Ventures with ArcelorMittal

On October 16, China Oriental Group Company Limited entered into two joint venture agreements with ArcelorMittal S.A. (a 37 percent shareholder of China Oriental), pursuant to which China Oriental and ArcelorMittal conditionally agreed to form two 50/50 joint ventures in the PRC. The joint ventures will be principally engaged in the production and sales of electrical steel grade hot-rolled coil substrates and cold-rolled non-oriented or oriented electrical steel, which has been a key material for the automotive industry, in particular in the high-power model of electric vehicles. The joint ventures are expected to participate in the development, investment, construction and operation of photovoltaic and wind power projects in the PRC.

China Oriental's total investment and financing commitment for the joint ventures is expected to be approximately $1.84 billion. After completion of the formation of the joint ventures, the parties and joint ventures will also enter into related supply and technology licensing agreements.

S&C has deep expertise and strong track record in automotive, industrial and manufacturing sectors. The firm ranks first by value among law firms in automotive M&A over the past five years, according to LSEG, and has been recognized at China Business Law Journal Awards 2024 in the Automotive, Industrials & Manufacturing industry and in Outbound M&A.

The S&C team advising China Oriental on the joint ventures formation and related transactions as to matters of Hong Kong law is led by Kay Ian Ng and consisted of Rosana Tse and Jeffrey Lee.