Japan’s Sojitz Plans to Acquire 5% Stake in Masan High-Tech Materials

Japan’s Sojitz Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Masan Group to acquire a 5% stake in Masan High-Tech Materials. Masan High-Tech Materials owns the Núi Pháo polymetallic mine and a tungsten refinery in Thái Nguyên. Sojitz also plans to sign long-term agreements to sell the company’s tungsten and fluorspar in Japan, targeting customers in the semiconductor, automotive, aerospace and energy industries.

Sojitz Group plans to acquire a 5% stake in Masan High-Tech Materials.（VietVance）

The proposed investment comes less than a month after Sojitz signed an agreement to sell its entire interest in the Gregory Crinum coal mine in Queensland, Australia. Sojitz said the sale aligns with its plan to gradually exit most of its Australian coking coal business and pledged to divest all its coking coal assets by 2050 at the latest. A Sojitz executive said electric vehicles and digitalization are changing demand for batteries, chips and the minerals they require.

Sojitz’s rare earth business dates back to trading by its predecessor in the 1960s. In 2011, Sojitz and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) provided rare earth company Lynas with loans and equity investment totaling US$250 million. In return, Sojitz secured exclusive rights to distribute Lynas’s rare earths in Japan and priority rights to purchase up to 9,000 tonnes a year. Sojitz estimates that this supply chain now meets 70% of Japan’s demand for light rare earths such as neodymium and praseodymium.

Sojitz subsequently expanded its heavy rare earth purchasing arrangements. In March 2026, it amended its long-term contract with Lynas, increasing to 75% the share of Lynas’s medium and heavy rare earth output sold to Japan. In July of the same year, Sojitz and JOGMEC decided to invest in a gallium production project at an alumina plant in Australia. Sojitz will purchase the output and sell the gallium to Japan and other markets.

Source: VietVance