Steel association to promote M&A to increase industry concentration, profits
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Update time : 2022-10-31 20:18:38
China's iron and steel association said on Monday that it will accelerate efforts to promote mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to increase the industry's concentration and profits amid challenges such as an increasingly complex international landscape, domestic COVID-19 resurgences and soaring raw material prices.
In the first three quarters of the year, China's steel output stood at 781 million tons, down 3.4 percent year-on-year. In July, daily average production was 2.63 million tons, the lowest in a year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
During the first nine months, steel exports totaled 51.21 million tons, down 3.4 percent on a yearly basis, while imports dropped 22.1 percent year-on-year to 8.34 million tons, official data showed.
In addition to the removal of export tax rebates, weak overseas demand contributed to the drop in exports, Qu Xiuli, deputy head of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), told the Global Times on Monday.
Qu said China's steel exports have been more stable than initially expected, with the forecasted exports to reach 66 million tons in 2022.
Due to fluctuations in major bulk commodities, the prices of raw materials including coking coal and iron ore remain at high levels, leading to elevated costs for steel companies, and the industry faces rising pressure to improve profits, according to the CISA.
