China Baowu Steel ranks world’s No 1 steelmaker
China’s top steel maker China Baowu Steel Group, after a series of mergers and acquisitions since 2016, celebrated its 2020 crude steel output exceeding 100 million tonnes on December 23, thus officially claiming the ranking of the world’s No 1 steel maker.
Baowu was formed via the merger of Baosteel Group and Wuhan Iron & Steel Group in2006. , then in June 2019, Baowu acquired 51% stake in Magang (Group) Holding in Anhui in East China in June 2019.
Baowu acquired control of Chongqing Iron & Steel Group in Southwest China’s Chongqing in 2020, followed by Baowu’s receiving a 51% controlling stake in Taiyuan Iron & Steel Group, China’s No 2 stainless producer in North China’s Shanxi province.
China has been progressing towards the goal of strengthening the concentration in its steel sector, making its top ten steel mills to contribute 60% of the domestic steel production. The aim is yet to be realized completely.
