Open Mineral Inks Strategic Cooperation Deal with China's Steel Searcher (Zhaogang) in Saudi Arabia

Joint Work in steel products supply chains in KSA, addressing the rapid expansion of Saudi's infrastructure 

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Critical minerals commodity digital trader and market intelligence house 'Open Mineral' is pleased to announce that is has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with China-based giant 'Steel Searcher (Zhaogang)' on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, towards leveraging Steel Searcher's existing trading platform and create a unique and efficient supply chain operator for steel products in the Saudi market, and for the GCC region. The agreement paves the way for a planned official presence in the Kingdom by both parties, addressing and acknowledging the vital Saudi Arabian infrastructure, supply chains channels and overall economy, in support of its rapid expansion, and towards contributing to vision 2030's bottom line.

Under the terms of the agreement, the preliminary objective of the close cooperation is to build up a steel products supply chain in Saudi Arabia, with the ultimate goal of establishing a 'Middle East Steel Supermarket' to provide a one-stop-shop for sourcing steel products.

Boris Eykher, Global CEO of Open Mineral said, "We are proud of having reached this critical milestone with our partners at Steel Searcher (Zhaogang) for the vital market that is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Open Mineral advances the trade of base metal raw materials and secondary products, blending technology and analytics for our clients, who benefit from reaching sellers and buyers of the base metals commodity on a global scale. And with our plans for the Saudi market alongside our partners Steel Searcher, we believe we can significantly contribute to the Kingdom's mining and metals strategy which was launched in 2018, and support its drive towards economic transformation, diversification and sustainable production of energy transition metals."

Mr Changhui Wang, Group COO and Co-founder of Steel Searcher (Zhaogang) said on the occasion, "Based on the Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 construction plan, the sharp increase in demand for building materials for infrastructure in its local market, the diversification of its economy, and the strong inclusiveness of the market, Steel Searcher will integrate the Saudi Arabian market as the main expanding market for its Middle East business. At the same time, utilizing the advantages and resources of its platform and its technical know-how in the steel industry, Steel Searcher will cooperate with Open Mineral to link everything in the steel industry chain, improve the operational efficiency of the whole industry, and jointly build a Middle East steel product supermarket, providing one-stop solutions for steel products, a continuous source of high-quality infrastructure materials for the continuous construction of new infrastructures in Saudi Arabia."

About Open Mineral:

Open Mineral (OM) is a digitally driven physical commodity trader. The company combines effective use of technology with market intelligence, enabling profitable and efficient trading of raw material commodities. Open Mineral gained a differentiated technology edge in origination, sales, logistics and market intelligence, covering metals with a special focus on energy transition.  Collecting, analyzing and running machine learning and AI algorithms on the data, has supported the company's continued growth, and paved the way for strategic partnerships globally..

Since inception in 2016, the Company , which was established by of ex-Glencore traders, has built an industry leading team  with combined long-standing expertise in all aspects of raw materials trade and research. The Company developed the fastest growing, profitable physical trading book, allowing for a global presence  in Switzerland and Abu Dhabi, as well as other key geographic jurisdictions of raw material supply and consumption. The firm's track record has already attracted leading institutional investors, including Mubadala Investment Company, amongst others.

For more information:
Mohamed Tahboub
Open Mineral,
Head of Regional Communications & Marketing
+971 50 157 6868
mohamed.tahboub@openmineral.com 

About Steel Searcher (Zhaogang):

Steel Searcher (Zhaogang), established in early 2012, is a leading industrial technological service platform in China with over 1,000 people and an annual transactional turnover of over 100 billion CNY. Utilizing the Internet and big data as tools, Steel Searcher provides a one-stop solution for industrial and constructional use and offers platform transactions, B2B payments, logistics, supply chain finance, SaaS, AI, and big data services, helping small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry improve efficiency, achieve growth, and provide users with a better business experience. In the international business sector, we have been providing Chinese industrial product procurement, local trade, and supply chain services to over 3,000 users in multiple countries such as Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana etc.

For more information:
Yue Gao
Steel Searcher,
International Trade Department
+86 13611653922
yue.gao@zhaogang.com 

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