The Department of Industry and Information Technology of China's Hebei Province has issued its capacity replacement rules for the steel industry in Hebei, stating that the replacement ratio of eliminated capacity to newly-built capacity should not be less than 1.25 : 1.0. Meanwhile, steelmakers which eliminate their converters can replace them by new electric furnaces with an equivalent capacity, while they should also eliminate sintering facilities and coke ovens together with their converters.
Moreover, the building of replacement capacities in Hebei following capacity elimination in other parts of China will not be allowed until Hebei Province first achieves its own capacity elimination targets. Even within Hebei Province, capacity replacement will only go ahead after approval has been received from the relevant local governments.