India's state-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Indonesia's largest steelmaker Krakatau Steel Company Limited are planning to invest as much as $350 million to build a stainless steel slab plant in Indonesia, according to Reuters.

The facility is slated for an initial annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes, with scope for capacity expansion after commissioning. Commercial operations are expected to start in three-to-four years' time.

The two firms signed a preliminary joint-venture agreement for stainless steel slab production in Indonesia in July. SAIL intends to dispatch a technical team to Indonesia in August to carry out a feasibility study.

Upon completion of the study, the sides will finalize the JV equity structure, government-approval timelines and other implementation details.

SAIL will take the entire slab output from the Indonesian plant for rolling and further processing at its Salem mill in India. Finished goods from the Salem facility will predominantly serve domestic Indian buyers, while a small volume may be exported to the Middle East and Europe.