On January 23, Inner Mongolia-based Chinese steelmaker Baotou Iron and Steel Co. (Baogang Group) announced that in 2012 its fixed asset investments amounted to RMB 13.3 billion ($2.13 billion), up 52.7 percent compared with RMB 8.709 billion ($1.4 billion) recorded in 2011.
In addition, Baogang Group has stated that in 2012 the output of its wire rod plant totaled 743,000 mt, up 6.14 percent year on year, with the wire rod export volume for the year amounting to an all-time record of 326,000 mt, increasing by 85.23 percent year on year. The export volume accounted for 43.9 percent of the overall output, up by 18.9 percentage points compared with 2011.