Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp will likely raise its stake in Aluminerie Alouette -- North America's biggest aluminum smelter -- to 13.33 percent from the current 6.67 percent, the Nikkei business daily reported.
Marubeni plans to spend 14 billion yen ($179.21 million) to buy additional shares of the Quebec-based aluminium producer, which is 40 percent-owned by Rio Tinto Alcan of Canada and 20 percent-owned by Norway's Norsk Hydro, the paper said.
Aluminerie Alouette plans to raise its aluminum ingot output capacity by 60 percent to 930,000 in 2016, and this expansion is expected to cost about 147 billion yen, with Marubeni's share coming to about 20 billion yen, the Nikkei said.
The Japanese company's investment will likely total about 34 billion yen, the paper added.
By expanding its presence in Canada, Marubeni's total rights to aluminum is forecast to reach 277,000 tons in 2016, putting it ahead of Japanese aluminium mogul Mitsubishi Corp, the Nikkei reported. ($1 = 78.1200 Japanese yen)
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