Steel specialist BlueScope Steel Ltd (ASX: BSL) and Nippon Steel Corporation of Japan have agreed to undertake a long-term joint technical partnership in developing next-generation coated steel products as the Japanese company announced on Wednesday via its official online site that products to be manufactured by both firms are aimed for the global building and construction market.

Under the proposed collaboration, Nippon Steel said that "both parties will conduct further joint research and development utilising each other's facilities for research, production and processing."

The Japanese steel maker said that they expect the partnership to engender synergistic effects and strengthen capabilities of advance products development to meet the customer needs in the building and construction market.

Nippon said that with such collaboration goal, both companies should achieve values enhancement on their respective core market competences, adding that "the new product technologies will improve corrosion resistance performance, formability, and surface clearness, compared to the current product that they offer."

Nippon said that the company's expectations were anchored on its 40-year working relationship with BlueScope as it revealed that "both companies will announce expected market launch timeframes in due course."

As of 1217 AEST on Wednesday, BlueScope shares were trading at $2.36, shedding some five cents of its worth or 2.07 percent from the previous trading day.