Reuters quoted France Areva and Kazakh state nuclear company Kazatomprom said y they were setting up a joint venture to market uranium fuel and were considering joint production.

The venture, IFASTAR, will research the Asian market for nuclear fuel and run a feasibility study for a project to produce fuel in Kazakhstan, the companies said in a statement.

Areva will have a controlling stake in IFASTAR.

The companies said in a joint statement that "This confirms the strategy of Areva and Kazatomprom, the companies producing about 30% of global uranium output, to strengthen positions in Asia."

They said planned joint nuclear fuel production at the Kazakh Ulbinsky plant would be handled by a separate venture and Kazatomprom would have a controlling stake in it.

(Sourced from Reuters)