Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance and AS&H advise Baosteel on its JV with Saudi Aramco and PIF to establish first integrated steel plate manufacturing complex in Saudi Arabia

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance and AS&H in co-operation with Clifford Chance have advised BaoShan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd (Baosteel) on the M&A, financing and antitrust aspects for its joint venture with Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The joint venture seeks to establish an integrated steel plate manufacturing complex in Saudi Arabia, which will be the first facility of its kind in the Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. It is expected to be located in Ras al-Khair Industrial City, one of four new Special Economic Zones recently announced by the government.

The joint venture will bring together Baosteel’s advanced steel plate capabilities, Saudi Aramco’s integrated energy and chemicals expertise, and PIF’s strong financial and investment experience to advance the steel industry ecosystem in the Kingdom and the region.

Partners Yi Yang (Shanghai) and Omar Rashid (Riyadh), counsel Christian Both (Riyadh), senior associate Rida Jamal (Riyadh), associates Mercia Wang, Doris Zhang (Shanghai) and Naif AlSheikh (Riyadh) and trainee Yuanyuan Jin (Beijing) advised on the M&A aspects. Partner Yong Bai (Beijing) advised on the antitrust aspects of the transaction with counsel Dayu Man (Hong Kong) and trainee Ziwen Wang (Beijing). Partner Jiahua Ni (Shanghai) and associate Wen Xiao (Beijing) advised on the financing aspect of the joint venture.

Partner Yong Bai said, “We are proud to have assembled a global team spanning M&A, project finance and antitrust to advise on Baosteel’s landmark joint venture with Aramco and PIF. The steel industry is a driving force behind the advancement of the economic growth of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we wish Baosteel, Aramco, and PIF every success in their new stage of growth.”

Partner Omar Rashid adds: "It was a pleasure working with our cross-border team and strategic clients on this landmark transaction which should help to significantly develop the Kingdom's domestic steel manufacturing sector and contribute to the diversification of the Saudi economy in accordance with Vision 2030."

The complex transaction involved legal services across multiple jurisdictions, and included a wider team of lawyers in:

• Hong Kong: partner Ling Ho;
• Brussels: partner Anastasios Tomtsis, senior associate Carmen Puscas and associates Ilya Stekunov and Jonathan Blondeel;
• Istanbul: CIFTCI Attorney Partnership Managing Partner Itir Çiftçi, senior associate Sabri Kaya, and trainee Aysu Gürbüz.

Clifford Chance regular advises on the outbound investments of Chinese private and state-owned enterprises, particularly in the energy, infrastructure and natural resources sectors. These include Sinosteel on its acquisition of control of Samancor Chrome in South Africa, JCHX on its JV to jointly develop the Alacrán copper-gold-silver project in Colombia, and China Three Gorges Spain's acquisition of a 619MW renewables portfolio in Spain from Nexwell Power.