Angang appointed to acquire Pangang - Report
[2008-12-23 17:04:00]
It is reported that state owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has decided that Anshan Iron & Steel Group will acquire Panzhihua Iron & Steel Group and it seems that Baoshan Iron & Steel Group has lost the battle of gaining Pangang.
An official close to SASAC when approached by Hua Xia Times said that "Things have changed a lot. SASAC finally chooses Angang and this has been almost settled."
In August market rumor circulated that SASAC would like Baosteel to consolidate Pangang. However, SASAC changed its mind and chose Angang. This, if comes true, will fashion Angang to be the top steelmaker in China.
Though Baosteel is the favorite in the acquisition of Pangang, Angang keeps striving from first to last. To prove its ability, Angang raised its stake in the Pangang's listed firms through secondary market in this Aug when the shares slumped. In Sep end Angang held over 10% shares of all the three listed companies of Pangang.
SASAC hesitated in choosing Angang mainly due to the fact that no actual progress can been seen in the two years following Angang's consolidation of Benxi Iron & Steel Group.
Both Angang and Pangang boast abundant iron ore resources. Angang can gain several billion yuan every year via its iron ore resources. Once Angang and Pangang consolidate, Angang will dominate 75% of China's total iron ore resources.
