CHINA: Voestalpine set to decide next year on China plant

Austrian group Voestalpine expects to go ahead with construction of a new specialized steel plant in China as long as "dramatic things" do not emerge that could jeopardize the project, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing Chief Executive Wolfgang Eder.

"I assume we will make a decision in the course of next year," he said, noting when and where the plant will be built remained open.

Eder had told Reuters in August Voestalpine might not stick to the 140 million euro ($156.5 million) investment plan immediately.

He said on Tuesday that he still believed in China's potential despite a recent economic slowdown that unleashed market ructions.

"We do not expect China to collapse suddenly. China remains an attractive market in the long term. We are not changing our basic plans for China," he said.

Voestalpine is keen to expand in Asia, where it generated around 783 million euros of revenue - or 7 percent of the group total - in 2014-15, and 300 million euros of that was in China alone, a country where it already has around two dozen sites.

The company has said that it aims to nearly triple annual revenue in the Asian market to around 2 billion euros by the end of 2020 and invest between 400 million euros and 500 million euros in the region.