Company selected by Sichuan provincial government as a "Preferred Supplier" for reconstruction projects
BEIJING, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- General Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or the "Company") (NYSE: GSI), one of China's leading
non-state-owned producers of steel products and aggregator of domestic steel companies, today announced the opening of its Longmen joint venture subsidiary branch office in Chengdu, Sichuan ("Chengdu Longmen branch").
The Chengdu Longmen branch will primarily be focused on sales and marketing efforts to meet increased demand for steel building materials generated by extensive reconstruction following the 8.0 magnitude Wenchuan earthquake in the region on May 12, 2008. In November of 2008, General Steel's Longmen joint venture received "Preferred Supplier" designation from the Sichuan provincial government to supply construction related steel products to aid in earthquake rebuilding efforts.
"The opening of this new Chengdu Longmen branch office allows us to more easily provide our high-quality steel products to Sichuan province, where the reconstruction effort has created great need," said Mr. Henry Yu, General Steel's chairman and chief executive officer. "Our fully integrated Longmen joint venture facility, based near Xi'an in Shaanxi province, is ideally located to produce and cost-effectively transport steel products for rural, China-based projects. For the past five years, we have been selling products in Sichuan and have steadily been gaining market share as we develop long-term relationships with distributors and increase our brand recognition. In addition, as we look beyond the demand driven by the earthquake reconstruction, having a branch office in Chengdu allows us to better leverage our unique geographic position to capitalize on new regional rural development opportunities brought about through the central government's new economic stimulus package and on-going 'Go West' development initiatives."
Mr. Danli Zhang, General Steel's Longmen joint venture general manager further added, "We are very pleased to be able to capitalize upon the increased capacity coming online from our two newly completed and more efficient blast furnaces. We now have the ability to meet growing demand in the reconstruction area, while at the same time enhancing our dominant market position in Xi'an and southern Shaanxi province, the bridgehead area for development into China's western region."
According to articles appearing in "China Daily", approximately 37 million tonnes of steel-related products are expected to be used in Sichuan province for reconstruction efforts over a three year period. Key areas of reconstruction include 4.5 million urban and rural homes, 51,000 kilometers of highways, 5,500 kilometers of railways, 11,700 schools, 9,700 medical institutions, 2,000 reservoirs and 810 power stations. Nearly all of this steel must come from providers outside of the province. Prior to the earthquake, combined annual steel production in Sichuan province and neighboring Chongqing municipality amounted to 14.4 million tonnes, or less than 3% of the national output in 2007. The Sichuan provincial government estimates the total cost of reconstruction to be RMB1.67 trillion, or approximately US$245.6 billion.
About General Steel Holdings, Inc.
General Steel Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Beijing, operates a diverse portfolio of Chinese steel companies. With 4.8 million tonnes aggregate production capacity, its companies serve various industries and produce a variety of steel products including rebar, hot-rolled carbon and silicon sheet, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. General Steel Holdings, Inc. has steel operations in Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin municipality. For more information, please visit to http://www.gshi-steel.com .
Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial, political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on information currently available to it. The Company cannot assure that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projections will be realized. Such forward-looking statements may be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks or uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. For factors that could cause actual results to vary, perhaps materially, from these forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other subsequent filings. Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.
For investor and media inquiries please contact:
In China:
Ms. Jing Ou-Yang
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5879-7346
Email: jing@gshi-steel.com
Mr. Justin Knapp
Ogilvy Financial, Beijing
Tel: +86-10-8520-6556
Email: justin.knapp@ogilvy.com
In the United States:
Ms. Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
Tel: +1-646-460-9989
Email: jessica.cohen@ogilvypr.com
