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Nippon Steel to shut Kimitsu plant until end of 2019 for typhoon repairs

Nippon Steel Corp. is shutting down one of the two steel-making plants at its Kimitsu Steel Works in Japan's Chiba prefecture for repairs until the end of December, Reuters reported Oct. 3 citing a company spokesman.

In September, Typhoon Faxai damaged a chimney at the plant that discharges gas, due to which the company had to halt an oxygen furnace since Sept. 9, and is now operating blast furnaces at lower output to adjust to the reduced capacity.

The plant produces about 150,000 tonnes of semi-finished products every month, according to the newswire.

The spokesman added that operations are expected to resume in January, until which Nippon plans to produce substitutes at other plants along with asking fellow Japanese steelmakers to provide material for minimizing disruption in supplies to customers.

However, he refused to comment on the impact of the suspension on the company's earnings for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.

Additionally, Nippon's unit Kure Works also had to halt operations at another steel-making plant in late August due to a fire which damaged its operating room.

The spokesman said that the damage is still being investigated, and there is no assurance as to when operations will be resumed.

In August, the company was planning to raise ¥200 billion by March 2021 to fund overseas acquisitions and upgrade its domestic plants.