Australian firm wins $70 mln steel deal in Vietnam

HANOI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australia's Vietnam Industrial Investments Ltd (VII.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has won a licence to invest $70 million in steel ingot production in northern Vietnam, the official Vietnam News Agency said.

The firm would build a plant in the port city of Haiphong over the next 24 months to supply 500,000 tonnes of steel ingots annually to its two other steel plants nearby, the agency said in a report late on Tuesday.

Vietnam Industrial Investments runs five subsidiaries in the Southeast Asian country, with the two in Haiphong producing steel wire rod and steel reinforcing bars.

The demand for steel in Vietnam, spurred by annual economic growth of more than 8 percent and a real estate boom, would rise 20 percent this year after a 42 percent surge last year to 10.3 million tonnes, industry experts said. (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Michael Battye)