At the World Steel Association's (worldsteel) 45th annual meeting held in Paris on October 12, worldsteel announced its new officers and members of its board of directors. Accordingly, Zhang Xiaogang, president of major Chinese steelmaker Anshan Iron and Steel Group (Ansteel), will hold office as the new chairman of the worldsteel board for one year until October 2012.
Director general of worldsteel, Dr. Edwin Basson, underlined that this appointment marks the first formal recognition of the great importance of China within the world steel industry. Dr. Basson also welcomed the new members from "emerging countries whose economic development has generated remarkable growth in the global steel industry over the last two decades."
The newest members of worldsteel are as follows: Brazil's Compañia Siderurgica Huachipato S.A. (CAP ACERO), Iran's Iran Alloy Steel Company, Thailand's Sahaviriya Steel Industries Public Company Ltd (SSI) and India's Sunflag Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (SISCO)