MT ArcelorMittal

By Alex MacDonald

LONDON--ArcelorMittal (MT) said Friday it has signed a preliminary agreement with state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd to create a automotive-steel joint venture in India that would take advantage of burgeoning demand for cars and trucks.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker by shipments, signed a memorandum of understanding with SAIL to build a cold rolling mill and other finishing facilities that would use the steel titan's advanced technology to sell steel products to India's rapidly growing automotive sector.

India is forecast to become the world's fourth-largest automobile-manufacturing nation by 2020, with output growing from approximately 3.5 million units to more than 7 million units by the end of the decade. But a bloated bureaucracy and significant hurdles over purchasing land and regulation have deterred some foreign companies from investment.

Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com

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