Major Chinese copper tube and rod manufacturer, Zhejiang Hailiang Co., is building a $288 million plant in Morocco to produce new energy materials, including lithium battery foil, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday. Citing a filing by the company to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Bloomberg states that the plant in Morocco will help Zhejiang Hailiang better supply clients in Europe, America, the Middle East, and Africa as geopolitics disrupt trade flows. The Moroccan facility is expected to produce 50,000 tons of alloy, 35,000 tons of pipe, 40,000 tons of rod, and 25,000 tons of foil annually. Hailiang specified that construction of the Moroccan plant is expected to take 36 months. Choosing Morocco as a production base was also due to the free trade agreements the Kingdom has with the US, the European Union, and Turkey, Hailiang stated, citing access to these markets. To counter restrictions on Chinese products, Zhejiang Hailiang has been expanding into new production facilities outside of China. The company announced a 50,000-ton lithium-battery copper foil plant in Indonesia last year, adding to its existing plants in the US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Vietnam, and Thailand.
