As announced on May 20, northern Chinese Liaoning Province based state-owned steelmaker Benxi Iron & Steel (Group) Co.,Ltd has lately signed a merger agreement with fellow Liaoning-based steel producer Beitai Iron & Steel Group Co.,Ltd. This is the largest merger deal to be signed after the central government's publication of its ‘Steel Industry Adjustment and Revitalization' document.
Officials at Beitai Iron & Steel confirmed that, after the merger, the new company will then be merged with giant Chinese steelmaker Angang Group. Angang Group's annual steel production capacity will thus increase by 10 million mt to 50 million mt, exceeding the annual capacities of both Baosteel and Hebei Iron and Steel
Beitai Iron & Steel is roughly equal to Benxi Iron & Steel in terms of production capacity size. The major products of Beitai Iron & Steel are wire rod, bar, sheet and coil. At the end of 2009, the company's total assets amounted to RMB 44.957 billion, with total liabilities of RMB 27.445 billion. The company produces 4 million mt of hot rolled sheet/coil and 3.5 million mt of wire rod annually. The core asset of Beitai Iron & Steel is Benxi-Beiying Iron & Steel. 63.41 percent of Benxi-Beiying Iron & Steel belongs to Beitai Iron & Steel, while 13.35 percent belongs to China Minmetals Corporation.
Afterwards, Angang Group will merge other major steelmakers in northeastern China such as Lingyuan Iron & Steel Group. If these mergers are realized, Angang Group's total annual output will exceed 65 million mt.