China’s Ansteel and Ben Gang Group have announced a strategic restructuring plan that could merge both entities.
According to a filing cited in media outlets, Ansteel is the country’s fourth-largest steelmaker and Ben Gang is the ninth-largest, with both companies established in the Liaoning province. The two firms have been in merger discussions since 2005. Ben Gang Steel Plates, the listed segment of Ben Gang highlighted in a filing that the restructuring could result in an ownership change.
Ben Gang has a steel capacity of 20mn mt annually while Ansteel has almost double of Ben’s capacity at 39mn mt annually. China plans to consolidate up to 70pc of its steelmaking capacity under the top 10 steelmakers from 37pc at present, within the next five years and consolidation fits into that plan.
The restructuring has been endorsed by the Liaoning government in its five-year economic plan released in March. The full change is subject to the approval of the national and regional governments but more details will be revealed in Q2 2021.