Baoshan Steel plans new share offering

Baoshan Iron & Steel plans to acquire US$3.4 billion of assets from its state-owned parent Shanghai Baosteel through transfer of 2.5 billion new shares. The company will also offer 2.5 billion new shares for sale to the public. Analysts said the move was part of the steelmaker's goals to become one of the world's top three steel producers by 2010. Baoshan Iron & Steel will acquire Shanghai No.1 Iron and Steel, Shanghai No.5 Iron and Steel and the Nanjing-based Meishan Iron and Steel. Parent company Shanghai Baosteel owns an 85% share of Baoshan Iron & Steel, which currently has 1.8 billion shares available on the Shanghai exchange.