At the suggestion of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China (SASAC), Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinochem Group, the country’s fourth-largest oil company, has started initial talks with China-based Sinosteel Group regarding possible restructuring of the latter company, as reported by Chinese media sources.
Sinosteel Group is thought to have incurred considerable losses in 2012 though its final financial results for the year have not yet been released. Sinosteel’s business is mostly focused on the metallurgy and mining industries. While Sinochem’s core businesses cover import of chemical fertilizers, production of phosphate and compound fertilizer, and providing sales services for chemical products, its subsidiary Sinochem International Co. is involved in the metallurgy business and is one of main iron ore traders in China.