TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Kobe Steel Ltd (T:5406), which also makes aluminium products, has mostly suspended trade with United Company Rusal Plc (HK:0486) after the United States imposed sanctions on the Russian aluminium giant, its executive said on Friday.
"We have no intention to actively trade with any companies on the U.S. sanctions list," Kobe Steel Managing Executive Officer Kazuaki Kawahara told an earnings briefing when asked about the company's policy.
The company is searching for alternative sources for refined metals, he said.
The United States imposed sanctions this month on seven Russian oligarchs and 12 firms they own or control, including Hong Kong-listed Rusal, saying they were profiting from a Russian state engaged in "malign activities" around the world.
But the U.S. Treasury on Monday gave U.S customers of Rusal until Oct. 23 instead of June 5 to wind down business with the company. Treasury said it would not impose secondary sanctions on non-U.S. entities engaged with Rusal or its subsidiaries.
Another Kobe Steel executive said the U.S. extension may give it more breathing room on securing supplies.
"We are struggling to find a way on how to deal with the issue and to secure alternative supplies, as Rusal is the world's second-biggest aluminium producer and has a big impact," Senior Managing Executive Officer Yoshihiko Katsukawa said.
Kobe Steel is one of the Japan's biggest companies making aluminium products that are used in automobiles, trains and electronics. It sold 363,000 tonnes of aluminium rolled products in the year ended March 31, 2018.