Japanese heading into North American newsprint operation

One of the newest Japanese investment plans for participation in North American companies involves the newsprint field. The Mitsui & Co. group, along with OJI Paper Company, Japan's largest newsprint producer, recently announced it would pay more than $100 million (US) for a one-third interest in a newsprint mill at Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Canada.

The unit, owned by Canadian International Paper, was recently modernized to increase its annual capacity by 30 percent. Its output, as a subsidiary of US International Paper Company, combines with other newsprint units to make up the parent company production of 1.5 million metric tons annually, North America's second volume newsprint producer.