On October 20, Huang Libin, deputy director at the operation and supervision coordination department of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated that any new steel capacity projects in China will not be approved, while new steel projects which have already received approval must adhere closely to the country’s requirements as regards elimination of excess and outdated capacity.
Mr. Huang stated that as of the end September this year China had achieved 80 percent of its capacity reduction targets for 2016 in the steel and coal sectors, against the backdrop of the country’s supply-side reforms. “By mid-October this year, the average prices of finished steel and coal in China had increased by more than 30 percent and 50 percent respectively compared to the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, in the January-August period this year, steel enterprises in China achieved an overall net profit, shifting from a net loss in the same period last year," the MIIT official stated.