At a recent meeting of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), Xu Lejiang, the president of Chinese steel giant Baosteel Group, announced that the group aims to push through its program for the integration of Guangdong Steel Group in 2011.
In 2008, Baosteel decided to restructure two steel producers in the southeastern Chinese province of Guangdong, i.e., Shanguan Steel Group and Guangzhou Steel Group, and thus to set up a new company named Guangdong Steel Group, in which Baosteel would hold 80 percent of shares. Under the framework of its integration program, Baosteel also decided to eliminate 15 million mt of outdated steelmaking capacity in the province and to build a steelmaking base in Zhanjiang, Guangdong with an annual output capacity of over 10 million mt.
Mr. Xu stated that, while the restructuring work had been slow, Baosteel aimed to complete the integration of Guangdong Steel within the current year.