Baosteel Iron & Steel Co., China’s largest listed iron and steel company, said it will double its investment in a joint venture to manufacture steel plates in Saudi Arabia to $1 billion, up from about $437.5 million.

Baosteel said in a separate filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it will reduce additional asset guarantees to finance the joint venture to about $1.1 billion from $1.3 billion.

Baosteel, a subsidiary of China’s Baowu Steel Group, the world’s largest steelmaker, signed agreements in May 2023 with Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Public Investment Fund to set up a joint venture to manufacture steel plates.

Baosteel owns 50% of the joint venture, while Aramco holds a 25% stake, the same as the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.

The joint venture’s targeted annual production capacity is 2.5 million tons of direct reduced iron and 1.5 million tons of steel plates.

The project primarily aims to meet the needs of the Saudi market, with plans to export to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Middle East and North Africa region, according to the Saudi Press Agency, the day after the project agreement was signed more than a year ago.

The investment is in line with the Public Investment Fund’s goals to unleash the potential of strategic sectors and industries that contribute to diversifying the local economy.