By unknown| 2008-04-22 00:00:00

Ansteel’s director Fu Jihui says the company initially plans to produce over 18 million tons of steel and 17 million tons of steel products in 2008. It purchased iron ore at 790 yuan per ton in the first quarter and coking coal at 880 yuan per ton with a further rise of 100-200 yuan per ton for the latter in the second quarter.   He notes the 22.6 billion yuan Bayuquan project will start operations in the later half of 2008 with an annual capacity of 5 million tons. Ansteel sold its products at 4,689 yuan per ton in the first quarter, up 11% and was expected to grow 10% in the second quarter.   It purchases 75% of iron ore necessary from its parent company and remaining 25% from overseas, most of them are bought under long-term contracts. The company will reduce exports from 2008 as gross profit margin from exports could be 3 percentage points lower than that from domestic sales, he says.

By unknown| 2008-04-14 00:00:00

China exported 4.16 million tons of steel in March, an increase of 1.05 million tons from February, spurred by the widening price gap between the domestic and international markets. International steel prices rose more sharply than domestic prices, with the price gap extending to 100 U.S. dollars to 200 U.S. dollars per ton, which propped up more exports, said industry expert Xu Xiangchun. March exports were 22.6 percent less than a year earlier, the latest customs figures showed. The accumulated export in the first quarter totaled 11.39 million tons, down 19.3 percent year on year, with the export value up 7.6 percent. Net exports in March stood at 2.65 million tons, 790,000 tons more than a month ago, but 30.3 percent less than the corresponding period of last year. Aggregated imports dropped 2.1 percent from a year earlier to 4.18 million tons. Xu said the rising exports in March were in part due to the undelivered goods in February, and that the tax rebate abolition for the exported energy-consuming goods was beginning to bear fruit. Despite the increase from February, exports declined from the same period last year. Xu said. He expected more tightening policies to come out if monthly exports exceeded 400 tons. Luo Bingsheng, vice-chairman of China Iron and Steel Association, forecast the country's exports of crude steel would decline to 52.5 million tons this year from 73.07 million tons in 2006, largely due to the government's effort to curb the exports of the alloy of iron and carbon.

By unknown| 2008-04-09 00:00:00

The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) has set out its wire rod and rebar futures contracts and formulated guidelines on delivery and risk control, its president said.   "The market conditions are right. It's a good time to launch steel futures trading this year," Yang Maijun, president of SHFE, said at the Far East Steel Conference in Beijing.   Yang, a former director of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the regulator is likely to approve the scheme "very soon".   Rebar and wire rods are among the most common steel products used for construction in China and it will be relatively easy to introduce them as futures contracts, Yang said.   At the same conference, Qi Xiangdong, vice-chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), said hedging tools are urgently needed because China, the world's largest, but highly fragmented, steel market is increasingly vulnerable to international commodity price swings.   Industry analysts shared Qi's concern. "Once there's steel futures trading, users and producers can sign futures contracts to minimize risks associated with volatile prices," a recent steel research report by CITIC Securities said.   Apart from serving steel producers and traders, the Shanghai futures bourse also plans to encourage financial institutions such as commercial banks and securities firms to engage in steel futures trading, Yang said.   The exchange's plan to trade steel futures dates back to early 2006, but was delayed due to the CISA's fears of volatile futures trade impacting the spot market and causing excessive market speculation.   Copper, aluminum, zinc and gold are currently traded on the SHFE.   SHFE trading totaled 23 trillion yuan ($3.28 trillion) last year, up 83 percent year-on-year.

By unknown| 2008-04-08 00:00:00

A Chinese industry group on Wednesday denied the claims of a U.S. study released last month, which stated that massive government energy subsidies had fueled the country's steel exports. Since China accounted for one third of world crude steel production capacity, if there was a global demand for the low-end product that no other country could meet, market forces would boost China's exports. The statement also said that China had developed its steel industry for the purpose of satisfying domestic demand, not for exports. The country had plans to phase out 100 million tons of obsolete iron capacity and 55 million tons of steel capacity by 2010. Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations launched by the United States against Chinese steel products would not help solve trade problems, nor would it favor the U.S. steel industry and consumers, it said. The accusation that China had supported its steel industry with energy subsidies of 27.1 billion U.S. dollars from 2000-07 was groundless and deviated from the truth, said a statement from the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC). "The surge in China's steel output and exports in recent years has been totally driven by the need for steel products in China and importing countries for their economic growth," it said. The study, commissioned by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, provided new ammunition for U.S. steel companies that are pressing for tough measures by Congress against China's steel products. China, the world's biggest maker and consumer of steel, produced 489.2 million tons of crude steel last year, up 15.7 percent year-on-year, which was 2.67 percentage points lower than the rise in 2006. Net exports of crude steel soared 58 percent to 54.9 million tons last year. But exports to the U.S. declined 23.3 percent as prices rose 32.3 percent. Responding to foreign complaints about cheap Chinese steel, the CCCMC statement attributed the competitive edge of the country's steel products to its low labor and management costs, rather than government subsidies. With raw material prices and labor costs increasing, export prices for China's steel products had jumped 263 percent over the past seven years and were still rising, it said. But China's steel exports were mostly low-end, generic products, which served as a supplement to the international market, it said.

By unknown| 2008-04-07 00:00:00

Shougang Corp's plan to buy a 19.7 percent stake in Australian iron ore producer Mt Gibson Iron Ltd from Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov was blocked by a regulator because of Shougang's links to an existing holder. Shougang Concord International Enterprises Co, a unit of China's ninth largest steelmaker, is associated with existing Mt Gibson shareholder APAC Resources Ltd, the Melbourne-based Takeovers Panel said yesterday in a statement. The rejection, supported by Mt Gibson, foils Shougang's attempt to increase control of iron ore supply as prices for steel raw material soar. Chinese mills agreed last month to pay at least 65 percent more for ore this year. "This certainly creates a difficult situation," said John Veldhuizen, an analyst at BBY Ltd. "These companies are becoming more active in this space." A takeover bid "is a real possibility", he added. Perth-based Mt Gibson has a market value of A$2.3 billion ($2.1 billion). "We have no plans to appeal the decision though we do not agree with such a decision," said Cheng Man Ching, Hong Kong-based company secretary of Shougang Concord. Usmanov's Gazmetall Holding (Cyprus) Ltd agreed in January to sell Shougang a 9.3 percent stake in Mt Gibson for A$201 million ($183 million) and an option over a 10 percent stake. The panel found the sell-off would increase Shougang's and APAC's voting power in Mt Gibson to 39 percent given APAC already holds a 20.2 percent stake in the company. Shougang Corp, through Shougang Holding (Hong Kong) Ltd, also owns 18 percent of APAC Resources Ltd.

By unknown| 2008-04-02 00:00:00

According to the annual report for 2007 by Baosteel Company Ltd, the company had a turnover of 191.6 billion Yuan, increasing 18% from that of 2006; profits of 19.31 billion Yuan, up 0.54%; net profit of 12.72 billion Yuan, down 2.75%; profit per share of 0.73 Yuan, down by 2.67% from that of a year ago. The company intends to pay 3.5 Yuan in cash (taxes included) per ten shares. According to Baosteel, the full diluted profit margin on net assets came to 14.37%, down by 1.72% with the same comparison. Pressure from raw materials The iron ore import prices in 2007 rose by 9.5%, following an increase of 19% in 2006, and the ocean freight cost continued the upward trend, and prices for the raw materials for stainless steel, coke, coal and alloys kept increasing, especially the nickel products, which caused losses in stainless steel business. To cope with the rising raw materials costs, Baosteel raised the steel prices and began integration and cooperation with other steel companies in China, including Bayi Iron and Steel, Handan Iron and Steel and so on. Meanwhile, the company said, “the strong demand and rising raw materials prices continues to push the steel market prices”, and the company succeeded in several prices hikes for main products, therefore absorbing the increasing costs and lifting profits. The gross profit rate for stainless steel downed According to the annual report, though the turnover from iron and steel, and trade and other businesses had an increase of 7.78% to 22.73% in 2007, but the costs had a higher increase, ranging from 8.37% to 24.05%, therefore the operation profit declined by 1.99% from a year ago. The stainless steel had the largest decline in gross profit rate, down by 17.29% from that of 2006. The ratio of hot rolled, cold rolled and wide plate had an increase, but those for stainless steel and special steel both declined, with stainless steel results even in red. In 2007, Baosteel had a turnover of 20.6 billion Yuan from stainless steel business, but the costs for that field came to 21.8 billion Yuan. During the first half of 2007, Baosteel had a net profit of 80% higher, to 8.159 billion Yuan, taking more than half of the whole, and meaning that of the later half only 50% more of that in first six moths. Baosteel had said that, as the high priced nickel materials purchased in the first half of 2007 needed a time to be rolled into products, the stainless steel sector might have a loss in the second half.      

By unknown| 2008-04-01 00:00:00

Xindia Steels Ltd, the first Chinese-funded steel enterprise in India, laid down its foundation recently. Founded jointly by China's Xinxing Pipes Group, China Minmetals Corporation and three other Indian companies, Xindia is held 55% by Chinese companies and 45% by its Indian partners. Meanwhile, Xinxing Pipes Group remains Xindia's largest shareholder. Xindia will set up a steel plant with a 2.5 million-ton annual production capacity. The steel plant will also synthesize a 6 million-ton pellet plant.

By unknown| 2008-03-27 00:00:00

China's nonferrous metal industry remained on a good trend of development in 2007. The output of ten types of nonferrous metals - topping 20 million tons for the first time - reached 23.6052 million tons with an increase of 23.44%. China's output ranks first in the world for the sixth consecutive year, according to the news report from the press conference held by the China Nonferrous Metal Industry Association on March 25, 2008. As a main factor of rapid increase in China's nonferrous metals, the output of electrolyse aluminum rose to 3.2 million tons in 2007, and accounts for 72% of the total output of ten types of nonferrous metals. In addition, China's eight provinces each had a total supply of over 1 million tons of the ten nonferrous metals in 2007.

By unknown| 2008-03-26 00:00:00

A new steel and iron group was formed on Wednesday in the eastern province of Shandong. The State-owned Shandong Iron and Steel Group Co. Ltd. was created out of the restructuring of Jinan Iron and Steel Group and Laiwu Steel Group -- the sixth- and seventh-largest steel makers in the country -- and Shandong Metallurgical Industry Corp. The three belong to the Shandong provincial state assets management commission. Shandong Iron and Steel Co. has a registered capital of 10 billion yuan (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) and is fully government-owned. Under the provincial steel industry plan, the new group is to have an annual output of 31.6 million tons, second to Shanghai-based Baosteel, the country's largest steel maker. Last year, Jinan produced 12.12 million tons of crude steel and Laiwu turned out 11.7 million tons. China has been upgrading its steel industry through rationalization in the past few years. In 2005, Anshan Iron and Steel Group took over the smaller Benxi Iron and Steel Group and formed the Anben Iron and Steel Group. Both companies, which ranked in the top 10 at the time, were based in the northeastern province of Liaoning. Luo Bingsheng, vice chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association, said that link-ups and restructuring of the steel industry had become a global trend and the new Shandong-based steel group would play an active role in the international competitiveness of the country's steel industry. China's official industry policy states that by 2010, the crude steel output of the top 10 producers should account for 50 percent of the total, and by 2020, 70 percent. Last year, the production share of the top 10 steel makers accounted for 36.79 percent of the total, 1.94 percentage points more than in 2006.

By unknown| 2008-03-21 00:00:00

China is likely to sell 27 percent less steel abroad this year, largely due to the government's efforts to curb its exports, an industry group said on Thursday. Luo Bingsheng, vice-chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association, forecast that the country's exports of crude steel would decline to 52.5 million tons this year from 73.07 million tons in 2006. The 2008 figure would include 48 million tons of rolled steel and 1.5 million tons of billets, he said. "If exports rebound, more tightening measures will come." China would import 16 million tons of rolled steel and 220,000 tons of billets this year, he said. China, the world's largest steel maker and consumer, produced 489.2 million tons of crude steel last year, up 15.7 percent, which was 2.67 percentage points lower than the rise in 2006. Net exports of crude steel rose 58 percent to 54.9 million tons last year. But exports to the United States declined 23.3 percent.