Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has signed a new three year contract with Vinacomin, a Vietnamese state-owned firm, extending the supply of Vietnamese alumina to the UAE until 2023.
Under the agreement, EGA will continue to buy up to 300,000 tonnes of alumina from Vinacomin each year. The deal extends an agreement that EGA and Vinacomin signed in late 2017 which was due to expire at the end of this year.
The agreement follows a visit by a senior commercial delegation to Vietnam in October, led by His Excellency Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy. Alumina is amongst the significant components of UAE-Vietnam trade.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “We are pleased to extend the solid partnership between EGA and Vinacomin as part of the growing trade relationship between our two countries. We are looking forward to continuing to receive Vietnamese alumina for the years ahead, as well as exploring ways we can work together more broadly such as improving port infrastructure in Vietnam and exploring other upstream opportunities.”
Dang Thanh Hai, Vinacom’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “EGA is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and we are glad to extend our alumina supply relationship with such an important company in the aluminium industry. For Vinacomin, this agreement is also in line with the directives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam to contribute to further strengthening the trading relationship with the UAE, our country’s most important trading partner in the Middle East and North Africa.”
Alumina is refined from bauxite ore and is the feedstock for aluminium smelters.
EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery is expected to reach sustained production at nameplate capacity during the first half of this year, with production sufficient to meet some 40 per cent of EGA’s requirements. EGA will continue to import alumina to meet its remaining needs.
