This is the first of its kind Agreement signed by Kobe with any India Steel Major.

The agreement was signed by Mr Dilip Oommen, CEO (India) Essar Steel and Mr Koichi Onishi, Executive Officer of Kobe Steel and General Manager of its Kakogawa works.

Through this agreement, Essar will gain operational technology to manufacture higher quality steel products. The agreement also envisages supplying certain resources to Kobe such as slabs and other raw materials.

“This agreement will further strengthen Essar Steel’s product portfolio to enable it to produce steel for high end applications in auto segment besides other technical guidance in certain areas. In addition, it opens the possibilities of working on joint projects in future” said Mr Dilip Oommen, CEO (India), Essar Steel.

"The agreement provides the framework for our two companies to discuss areas of cooperation," said Mr. Koichi Onishi of Kobe Steel. "It creates a win-win collaborative relationship to provide both Kobe Steel and Essar with mutual benefits," he said.

The umbrella agreement will encompass the following: Quality Control and production for Steel, Technological improvements in the steel plant and their operation, Pollution control and energy consumption control at Steel works, Product improvement for automotive steel.

In February 2008, Kobe Steel agreed to provide Essar with Technical guidance on the production and quality control of automotive steel sheet, as well as facility diagnosis. Both companies saw the value of deepening their relationship, which consequently led to the formation of umbrella agreement.

Capital tie-ups between Kobe Steel and Essar are neither planned nor foreseen in the future.

About Kobe Steel:
Kobe Steel, Ltd. is one of Japan’s leading steelmakers and producers of aluminum and copper products. Other businesses include welding consumables, industrial machinery, engineering, construction equipment and electronic materials. In the year ended March 2008, Kobe Steel produced 8.07 million metric tons of crude steel and had consolidated sales of 2.1 trillion yen (US$21.3 billion). Employees in the Kobe Steel Group numbered 33,657. More information is available at: www.kobelco.com

About Essar Steel
Essar Steel Limited, part of Essar Group, is a fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer—from iron ore to ready-to-market products. Essar Steel has a current capacity of 4.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Its products find wide acceptance in highly discerning consumer sectors, such as automotive, white goods, construction, engineering and shipbuilding. Essar Steel produces highly customised products catering to a variety of product segments and is India’s largest exporter of flat products to the highly demanding US and European markets, and to the growing markets of South East Asia and the Middle East. It has invested in downstream capabilities to evolve from being a product based company to becoming a value added service provider. It has a global network of retail steel outlets, called Steel Hypermarts, and offers services, like cutting, slitting and blanking of steel sheets, through specialised Steel Service Centres worldwide.

About Essar Group
Essar Group, is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics, Construction and Mining & Minerals. Essar has an asset base of USD 14.5 billion, and employs more than 50,000 people across offices in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.