The government of northeastern Chinese province Liaoning has approved a merger between Anshan Iron & Steel (Angang) and Benxi Iron & Steel (Benxi Steel), as announced by Benxi Steel’s listed subsidiary Bengang Plate on August 19.
Accordingly, the owner of Benxi Steel, Liaoning’s State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission, will transfer 51 percent equity in the steelmaker to Angang.
As reported by SteelOrbis on April 7 this year, Liaoning Province will promote the reorganization of local steelmakers, including Anshan Iron and Steel Group and Benxi Iron and Steel Group, to foster world-class steel enterprises.
The total crude steel production of Angang and Benxi was 55 million mt in 2020 and the combined capacity is 63 million mt, making the new conglomerate the second largest steel producer in China after Baowu and the third largest in the world.
Angang is planning to continue its capacity increase by mergers and its target is to reach 70 million mt of crude steel production by 2025.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by 2025 the consolidation process in China will lead to the increase of the share of production of the top 10 Chinese steel producers to 60 percent of total domestic production. Meanwhile, the overall operating revenue of the high-quality steelmaking industry will exceed RMB 200 billion ($30.55 billion) by the end of 2025.
