On November 17 Norske Skog transferred the money to Abitibi Consolidated for its shares in PanAsia Paper Company.

Subsequently, PanAsia was fully consolidated into Norske Skog financial accounts and re-named Norske Skog PanAsia.

“We have gradually increased our holding in PanAsia over the last seven years, and we have taken over a modern and competitive company,” says a Norske Skog spokesperson, “This region offers the most interesting future opportunities for Norske Skog.

“Norske Skog is now the sole owner of PanAsia. This ownership gives us full access to the largest and fastest-growing market for newsprint in the world.”

As a result of the deal, Norske Skog also became the largest newsprint producer in Asia, with 25 per cent of the company`s production capacity now located in that region.

In Asia, Norske Skog is the sole owner of two newsprint mills in Korea and has a majority holding in two mills in China and one in Thailand.

The total annual production capacity on a 100 per cent basis is 1.8 million tonnes. The mills are modern and efficient, with paper machines built since 1990 account for 70 per cent of this capacity.

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