China Might Cut Number of Licensed Iron Ore Importers

飞雪寒冰

China is considering cutting the number of licensed iron ore importers, minister of industry and information technology Li Yizhong told Caijing on the sidelines of the World Steel Conference here on Oct. 12.

The ministry is in talks on the issue with the Ministry of Commerce, he said.

Imports of iron ore have surged this year, hurting domestic steel mills' efforts to negotiate a contract price reduction larger than the 33 percent offered by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

飞雪寒冰

Meanwhile, draft rules on merger and acquisitions in the steel industry have been completed and are awaiting ministerial approval, Li said, without elaborating.

China has more than 700 steel firms with a combined annual capacity of 660 million tons. In 2009, they will produce a record 580 million tons, far above the government's target of 460 million tons, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.

Smaller mills are the main target of a government plan to cut iron capacity by 72 million tons and steel capacity by 25 million tons by 2011.

Currently, the top 10 steel producers account for about a third of total output. Consolidation is being encouraged to concentrate 45 percent of production in the hands of the top five players, as witnessed by the planned takeover of Shandong-based Rizhao Iron and Steel, China's largest privately owned steel mill, by its state-run rivals.

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