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Tangshan Steel to merge with rivals

By Zheng Lifei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-30 15:36

Tangshan Iron & Steel said today that it had agreed to merge with two smaller steel makers to form one of China's biggest listed steel mills, a sign of the country's accelerating push to consolidate the fragmented steel industry.

The Shenzhen-listed company said it would conduct share swaps to merge with Chengde Xinxin Vanadium & Titanium Co and Handan Iron & Steel Co, two smaller rivals that are both listed in Shanghai and based in Hebei province where Tangshan is also located.

All three companies are already part of the same business group, the Hebei Iron and Steel Group, which was established in 2007. The merger is a first step towards listing all the group's major steel assets on the stock market, Tangshan said in a file to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Hebei Iron and Steel Group produced about 31 million tons of crude steel in 2007, exceeding the approximate 29 million tons produced by the Baosteel Group, which was at that time China's biggest steel maker.