The merger of the two Shandong Province-based Chinese steel producers Shandong Steel and Rizhao Steel will require more time, as the transfer of assets originally scheduled for March has been delayed.
Liao Haiting, a senior official at Rizhao Steel, confirmed that the transfer of assets has not yet been carried through. Meanwhile, a Shandong Steel was quoted as saying, "The merger has been progressing, though the process has been slower than expected."
According to some analysts, the difficulties in the merger lie in the fact that Shandong Steel is a state-owned business while Rizhao Steel is a large-size private sector company. It is reported that the transfer of assets is not expected to be completed in the short term.