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Baosteel considers quitting $2.8b JV

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-10 17:03

Baosteel Group, China's largest steelmaker, is considering shedding its 50 percent stake in a 19.4 billion yuan ($2.84 billion) joint steel plant, a Baosteel official said on Tuesday.

Related readings:  Steel sector consolidation to continue  Baosteel expects profit in 1st quarter  Baosteel secures M&A loan from BoCom

Baosteel, parent of Baoshan Iron and Steel, formed the 4.6 million-ton project with Handan Iron and Steel, which has been merged into the country's second largest steelmaker. Handan owns the remaining 50 percent stake in the project.

"We are still holding negotiations to pull out from the project. A final decision has not been made yet," said the official, who asked not to be named because he is not an official spokesman.

Hebei Iron and Steel Group was formed last year in a merger of two major steel producers, the parents of Tangshan Iron and Steel and Handan, in the northern province, home of thousands of private and small-sized steel mills.

The company, which produced almost 34 million tons of crude steel last year, expects output to grow 18 percent to 40 million tons in 2009 as the flagship production facility starts up, a Hebei Iron and Steel official said last week.