ISTANBUL, May 22 (Reuters) - Turkish steelmaker Tosyali Holding plans to invest $1.5-2.0 billion a year in a global expansion drive involving Africa and Saudi Arabia, as well as potential acquisitions and partnerships in Europe and the Americas, its chairman told Reuters.
One of Turkey's top steel makers with expected turnover of $10 billion this year, Tosyali plans to raise its liquid steel production capacity to 20 million metric tons from a current 14 million within five years, Fuat Tosyali said in an interview.
Tosyali Holding, which has been investing similar sums in recent years, has production facilities in Algeria and Spain as well as Turkey, and operates iron ore mines in Angola.
It also aims to operate a special economic zone in Senegal, including the construction of its own steel and rolling mill, and plans to invest around $5 billion in Saudi Arabia for an integrated steel mill with a capacity of four million tons.
"While we are not actively seeking partnerships, we are keeping our options open for partnerships with local private/sovereign investors (in Saudi Arabia)," the chairman said, adding he expected to finish the investment in three years.
Tosyali is also pursuing investment opportunities in Europe and the Americas in line with its goal to become one of the world's top 30 iron and steel producers, he said. It currently ranks 77th, World Steel Producers Association data show.
Investing in green production will be a priority too, and Tosyali may strike deals in hydrogen in Europe and the Americas very soon, the chairman said.
"We are in talks with some European and American counterparts for partnerships in clean energy ... We may also consider an acquisition abroad in our steel business as in Spain," he said.
Following the acquisition of Spanish steel pipe manufacturer STS in January, Tosyali has 40 facilities in four countries with around 15,000 employees.
The company is close to announcing a steel mill investment in an African country involving four million tons of capacity, with two million set to be realized immediately, the chairman said, without naming the country.
The conglomerate will also invest $200 million to build a steel and rolling mill in Senegal.
Tosyali is mostly using its own equity funding for investments but wants to use alternatives, the chairman said.
"We want to issue our first green bond within one year for financing our green transformation and hydrogen investments. The size would be several hundred million dollars," he said.
Regarding its growth plans in Turkey, he said Tosyali was considering a green-field investment in electrical steel.
Tosyali's defense industry subsidiary BMC - a joint venture with QAFIC (Qatar Armed Forces Industry Committee) - is also investing in a tank factory, with the first tanks expected to be produced by August-September next year, he said. (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan and Ebru Tuncay; Editing by Daren Butler and Mark Potter)
