China to become World’s biggest steelmaker

BEIJING—China may have the world’s single biggest steelmaker by 2015 if the government succeeds in its policy of merging smaller producers into bigger businesses, Guy Dolle, chief executive of Arcelor SA, said in an interview.
An undated file photo shows a corner of the Anshan Iron& Steel Group in northeastern Liaoning Province. The nation, producer of a third of the world’s steel, introduced an industry plan in July which aims to have two steelmakers each with a capacity of more than 30 million tons a year by 2010 to compete with rivals such as Mittal Steel Co. and Arcelor, currently the globe’s two biggest producers. China has more than 260 steelmakers today.
“You could have a Chinese steel company in the range of 150 million tons in 10 years time,’’ Dolle said in Seoul yesterday. Mittal Steel, based in Rotterdam, plans to increase output to an annual 100 million tons from 70 million tons in coming years, partly through acquisitions. The industry is poised to shrink to three or four major global producers, with the top 10 accounting for at least 40 percent of the market, billionaire owner Lakshmi Mittal said June 21.
The company and Luxembourg-based Arcelor, the second-biggest producer, now own less than 15 percent of steelmaking capacity worldwide. By contrast, the three biggest iron ore exporters, Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton account for 73 percent of seaborne supply. Prices of iron ore and coal, steelmaking ingredients, have risen to records on Chinese demand.

—The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item