UPDATE 1-RUSAL to Deliver 2 mln Tonnes of Alloys to China

MOSCOW/BEIJING, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The world's top aluminium producer, Russia's UC RUSAL (0486.HK: Quote), said on Monday it signed a letter of intent to acquire a stake in a Chinese marketing unit to deliver 2 million tonnes of alloys to the Asian market.

The agreement to buy the stake in the sales and marketing subsidiary of arms maker China North Industries Corp (NORINCO) also specifies the intent of NORINCO to invest in RUSAL's Siberian smelters, the company said in a statement.

"Under a long-term contract between RUSAL and NORINCO, RUSAL will deliver up to two million tonnes of aluminium alloys worth more than $4 billion a year to the Asian markets from the company's Siberian smelters," RUSAL said.

NORINCO's investments in the production of aluminium casting alloys are aimed at increasing the volume of high-tech aluminium production sales on the Chinese market, it said.

The realisation of the investment plans will allow it to expand Russian capacities to make products with high added value and increase exports of Russian aluminium production to China and other Asian countries.

The signed letter of intent is an extension of a deal between RUSAL and NORINCO, struck in November 2009 with the signing of an agreement to supply 1.68 million tonnes of RUSAL's aluminium to the Chinese company by 2016.

RUSAL has said it plans to secure between five and eight major Chinese buyers on long-term contracts to carve a larger share of the world's biggest market for the metal.

Oleg Deripaska, RUSAL'S CEO and biggest shareholder, told reporters in Beijing that he expected global demand for aluminium semi-finished products to grow.