Wei hails Cosco alliance with aluminium giant Chalco

Under the terms of the deal, Cosco will be given priority in handling Chalco’s export and import cargos.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Cosco chairman Wei Jiafu hailed the alliance as a win-win partnership.
The collaboration could diversify Cosco’s business scope, while in return, the company could provide strong logistics and shipping support to Chalco, he said.
There was a tough environment ahead for the nonferrous metal and shipping industries, a Chalco executive said.
The strategic partnership could explore new markets for both companies. Chalco is China’s largest producer of alumina and aluminium products, and the world’s second largest alumina producer.
The firm generated Yuan30.9bn (US$4.5bn) in revenue from alumina sales last year, down 11.9% compared with 2007. Revenue from aluminium products fell almost 4.8% to Yuan51.6bn.
The tie-up with Chalco is the latest strategic framework agreement to be signed by Cosco with a major customer.
The company has also signed three long-term contracts with Shanghai’s Baosteel Group covering coal and iron ore imports.
They include a nine-year contract covering the coastal trades and a 20-year deal using 300,000 dwt very large ore carriers on the Brazil-China iron ore trade.
A similar deal was signed with the Shenhua Group, one of China’s major energy producers, covering domestic steam coal shipments and coal export services.