He Wenbo, the new chairman of Shanghai-based Chinese steel producer Baosteel, has stated that Chinese steel prices will likely register a year-on-year increase in 2010, mainly thanks to increases both in downstream demand and price of raw materials including iron ore. "If steel demand holds out and current prices remain steady, Baosteel's performance will still improve over last year even with rising iron ore costs," he said. He also noted that, while steel demand was likely to rise significantly in 2010, China already had sufficient capacity to deal with the increase.
In comments on the iron ore talks, Mr. He said, "We hope the miners will consider long-term interests and protect the development of both the upstream and downstream parts of the industry."
He Wenbo, new chairman of China's Baosteel, has stated that Chinese steel prices will likely register year-on-year increases in 2010.