Over 10 million tons of steel production capacity has been shuttered in Xinjiang province, where Beijing had encouraged investment in heavy industry and textiles in an attempt to boost economic growth and curb unrest, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed sales official at a unit Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron and Steel. “The situation is very severe. There are many newly built steel mills being closed and steel prices have tumbled,” the employee said, noting his unit was losing RMB300-400 (US$45.95-61.27) a ton. Xinjiang is particularly vulnerable to the latest push to cut down on China’s industrial overcapacity given its relatively sparse population and limited export opportunities.
Categories