Luo Tiejun, vice director of the raw materials division of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), has stated that the Chinese steel industry is currently suffering low profit margins and slow investment, which will necessitate the adjustment of the industry. He continued, "In future, we should follow consistent and stable policies, instead of drawing up new stimuli or monetary tightening policies. Last year, the average profit margin of the overall domestic industry was only 2.9 percent, the lowest among all industries in China. "
Regarding the investments, in 2010, as Mr. Luo said, the investment growth rate in the domestic steel industry was only 6.1 percent, compared with an overall fixed asset investment growth rate in China of 23.8 percent and an average investment growth rate in the major high energy-consuming domestic industries of 14.8 percent.
In the first four months of this year, the investment growth rate in the steel industry climbed up to 13 percent, but remained lower in comparison to other industries, Mr Luo said.