SteelOrbis Shanghai
On June 11, Hebei Province vice governor Sun Ruibin announced the establishment of Hebei Iron & Steel Group Co. Ltd, a merger of Tangshan Steel Group and Handan Steel Group.
With its 2007 steel production exceeding 100 million mt, Hebei Province has ranked first in China for six consecutive years in terms of its outputs of crude steel, pig iron, finished steel, and iron ore. Meanwhile, there are about 100 steel enterprises, both large and small, in Hebei Province - a province characterized by low levels of industrial concentration, by uneven steel industry distribution, poor product competitiveness, as well as by growing demand for resources and increasing environmental pollution.
The launch of Hebei Iron & Steel Group Co. Ltd represents a substantial step toward the consolidation of steel enterprises in Hebei Province. It has been learnt that Tangshan Steel Group's general manager Wang Yifang is now serving as leader of the team carrying out preparatory work for the new group, which will be officially inaugurated before mid-July.
Given the elimination of dated capacities and structural optimization, Hebei Steel Group will reach an annual steel production of 50 million mt by the end of 2010. Taking the establishment of the new steel group into account, Hebei Province plans to cut its total steel production capacity from 120 million mt at the end of 2007 to 80 million mt by the end of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period (2017-2022) through constant mergers and upgradings.