Record output for Baosteel in '04

Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp., China's largest steel company, reported record output of 21.23m tons of steel in 2004, generating expected revenue of RMB160.1bn (US$19.3 billion), state media reported. According to Xinhua, although final figures were still being compiled Baosteel would be the first Chinese producer to output more than 20m ton of steel in a single year. China's booming economy has driven a sharp increase in demand for steel and steel products despite government efforts to slow the economy. Baosteel has said that it wants to become one of the world's top three steelmakers by 2010, raising output to at least at 30 million tons.