JFE Holdings (5411): Announces Decision to Expand Production Capacity at JSW JFE Steel Limited (JJSL)

On Oct 26, JFE Holdings announced plans to expand capacity at JJSL (a 50:50 JV with JSW) from the current 4.5mn tons to 9.5mn tons, with operations scheduled to start in 2030. Investment will cover blast furnaces and converters as well as downstream facilities such as hot rolling, pickling and cold rolling, and CGLs. Although the investment amount is undisclosed, we estimate around ¥500bn based on comments indicating a cost in the high $600s per ton of crude steel capacity. Funding is to come from (1) JJSL's cash flow, (2) JJSL borrowings, and (3) equity contributions of around ¥125bn (split equally between JFE and JSW;