Emirates Steel swoops on GCC rival

Emirates Steel Industries has gained control of 45 per cent of the UAE steel market and hopes to grow even bigger through a major GCC acquisition within a month, the company’s chairman said.

An expansion in output by Emirates Steel (ESI) that began in June has cut the country’s imports of steel significantly and left the firm with a larger share of the construction steel market than previously forecast, said Hussain al Nowais.

The state-owned ESI, which is based in Musaffah, aims to become the Gulf’s largest steel company as part of the Government’s efforts to develop heavy industry in the emirate.