Alkavex, the steel trading business majority-owned by Alkagesta, has held a series of meetings in Tangshan and Tianjin to develop its commercial relationships in China. According to an announcement published by Alkagesta, the visits brought the business into contact with steel producers, traders, processors and industry representatives in a region central to its sourcing activities.
Bayram Bayramli, Alkagesta’s China Business Developer, led the engagements. The company said the meetings offered first-hand insight into manufacturing capacity, the infrastructure supporting supply chains and opportunities for international trade. Discussions with manufacturers and processing businesses formed part of a wider programme that also included industry associations, bringing together contacts across several stages of the steel supply chain.
Alkagesta described Tangshan and Tianjin as jointly forming one of China’s most significant corridors for steel production and exports. It said the engagements strengthened relationships supporting Alkavex’s sourcing and trading operations in the region. The announcement presented the visits as part of continuing business development in China, rather than identifying a specific supply agreement or transaction resulting from the meetings.
Based in Malta, Alkavex is a joint venture between Alkagesta and Navex SAS, a French steel trading company. Alkagesta holds the majority stake. The venture’s initial product focus is on semi-finished and finished steel, sourced mainly from China, placing the relationships discussed during the visits within its stated procurement model. Its customer base spans both West and East Africa.
The company’s account links that sourcing activity to demand from construction, manufacturing and infrastructure development across those African markets. Alkavex combines market knowledge with logistics capabilities and trade finance solutions to serve those customers, Alkagesta said. The Chinese meetings therefore sit within a business model connecting steel procurement primarily in China with customers in the two African regions.
Read the original announcement on Alkagesta.