New Forces Add to Hebei Steel

Hebei Iron and Steel Group (Hebei Steel) signed an agreement on November 11 with five local private steelmakers to take up 10 percent of equity in each company through ways of what the group described as an evolutionary approach to equity holding , this being involved management and technology transfers as well as sharing with them its resources in the areas of procurement, marketing and research.

The five mills - Hebei Jingye, Tangshan Songting, Xingtai Longhai, Yongyang Steel and Jitai Special Steel - will later re-register as their new status and, more importantly, agree to impart their output, over 10 million tons per year, to Hebei Steel.

The move conforms to the spirit of the government industry policy. By the end of 2015, the number of steelmakers in Hebei will be trimmed to around ten. The top five mills will have to produce more than 75 percent of the province's total output, compared with 48 percent in 2009.