Environment
Nippon Paper denies talks over jv with Gunns for pulp mill in Australia
SINGAPORE, Nov. 27, 2009 (RISI) – Nippon Paper Group (NPG) has denied that it is in talks to become a joint venture (jv) partner in Gunns’ scheme to construct a market pulp mill in Tasmania, Australia.
“We know that some rumors have been circulating about [our possible involvement with] Gunns’ planned pulp mill project. However, we have not considered investing in the project,” an NPG spokeswoman told PPI Asia.
Gunns said last month that it is in talks with some unidentified partners, as well as with the Swedish firm Södra, to create a jv to realize the A$2.2 billion ($2 billion) scheme.
And a spokesman for TAP Into a Better Tasmania, a group opposing the pulp mill, said his organization had been informed that one of the potential investors is a Japanese firm, which he did not name.
There was speculation that the company in question was NPG, as it has been rolling out an international expansion strategy in recent years that saw it acquire PaperlinX’s manufacturing arm, Australian Paper, in June.
At the time, NPG described the acquisition of Australian Paper as a step towards its goal of becoming one of the top five pulp and paper producers in the world by 2015.
Under the plan, it has also formed alliances with international players like Taiwan’s largest producer Yuen Foong Yu Paper Manufacturing and the Thai giant SCG Paper.
In response to the Gunns speculation, the NPG spokeswoman confirmed that some Australian environmental organizations had approached her company to clarify its rumored involvement in the Tasmanian pulp mill scheme.
But she explained that the Japanese giant has not considered being a jv partner for the planned 1.1 million tonne/yr bleached hardwood and softwood kraft pulp facility.
On its side, Gunns’ spokesman Matthew Horan said that his company would not comment on the identity of other potential investors in the scheme besides Södra.
Construction of the pulp facility, which will take 18 months to complete, has repeatedly been delayed as Gunns has thus far been unable to borrow enough money or secure a jv partner.
Funding for the mill has been hampered since late last year when the Australian bank ANZ pulled out as lead financier following anti-mill campaigns and protests from several green groups.