Home China Headline Economic boom lifts profits for domestic steel firms

Economic boom lifts profits for domestic steel firms

China's steel industry posted record earnings last year on strong domestic demand spurred by the rapidly growing economy and expanding exports, the government said yesterday. The industry generated an overall profit of 170 billion yuan (US$21.8 billion) in 2006, up 30 percent from a year earlier, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement, citing the China Iron and Steel Association. "The steel sector is developing soundly under the government's macroeconomics guidance," the statement quoted Luo Bingsheng, a vice chairman of the steel association, as saying. "The growth in investment, though still big, has been slowing, and the structure of steel products has been optimized." Despite higher prices for iron ore, a key ingredient in steel making, Chinese mills were able to post high earnings due to strong demand amid the country's rapid urbanization , among other factors. China's economy grew 10.7 percent in 2006, the strongest performance in a decade. Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Show/Hide comments Write comment Show/Hide comment form Name Email Website Title Comment Write the displayed characters Add Comment Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.

 

< Prev		Next >