ArcelorMittal, Hunan Valin steel deal approved

ArcelorMittal (MT.NYSE) and Hunan Valin Iron & Steel Group have received permission from the Chinese government to build a steel project, the Wall Street Journal reported.  "In the past one and a half years, our partner has been working with the Chinese government on the process, and the approval from [the National Development and Reform Commission] is part of the process," a spokesman from ArcelorMittal said. "Once the whole process is complete, Valin and ArcelorMittal will start the discussion on the cooperation details and decide how to start the cooperation project," the Luxembourg- based company said. According to the Hunan government, the auto sheet project is expected to produce 1.21 million short tons of cold-rolled coiled sheets and 500,000 tons of zinc-plated hot-coiled coils annually, with a total investment of about US$1.5 billion.