Hebei acquires a stake in Duferco

The Hebei Metallurgical Group, based in China, has announced its decision to acquire stakes in global steel trader Duferco to meet the demand from the country's growing exports of steel products.

For the first time in this country, a state-owned company made a decision to acquire a block of shares in a global metal trading company. In addition, it is the first symptom indicating that Chinese companies are willing to go overseas with their businesses as the country's government slashes restrictions on overseas investment. China's steelmakers have achieved record steel product exports this year and have expanded their export markets to South Korea, the United States, Indonesia and the Philippines, and Latin America.

According to the latest news in the media, the mining firm plans to acquire 51 percent of the global trading venture. The global trading company Duferco is headquartered in Luxembourg and also has subsidiaries in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. The trading company has confirmed that Hebei will have a controlling stake, but declined to disclose the exact details of the deal.

In a joint statement from the two companies, Hebei Iron and Steel will leverage their presence in the trading company by engaging in global marketing, and along with the trading firm, will have access to international funding structures to secure the position. company as a global supplier. “The internationalization strategy is an inevitable direction and an important support for our further development,” said the chairman of Hebei Iron and Steel.