Reuters reported that Japanese Nippon Steel has agreed to acquire a 20% in Al Ghurair Iron & Steel (AGIS), a steelmaker in the United Arab Emirates, for about ￥2 billion to tap growing demand for steel in the Middle East.

AGIS is part of the Al Ghurair Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in the emirates, produces hot-dip galvanized sheet steel.

The company set to expand its annual production capacity to 450,000 tons from 250,000 tons within the next few years.

Nippon Steel planned to supply it with at least 200,000 tons per year of hot-rolled coil steel.