Pioneer Iron & Steel Group, the steel empire of 'Iron Princess' Diana Chen Ningning, is seeking a listing to expand after Ms Chen sold all her shareholding in China Oriental Group, a company executive said.
Ms Chen, one of the mainland's richest women, sold her entire 28 per cent stake in Hong Kong-listed China Oriental to ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, for US$647 million earlier this month, after failing to take over the company.
A large privately owned iron ore importer in the mainland, Pioneer planned to use the sale proceeds to expand production capacity at its Zhuhai plant, to acquire steel mills in Hebei or Shanxi provinces, and to upstream resources, vice-chairman Nicolas Lee said yesterday.
Zhuhai Yueyufeng steel mill, of which Pioneer holds 66 per cent, would expand annual output to about five million tonnes by 2010 from the present level of two million tonnes, he said.
Along with mergers and acquisitions, Pioneer aims to boost total annual capacity to 10 million tonnes in three years.
'Many steel mills are approaching Ms Chen and are willing to sell their stakes and collaborate with her. This is especially [the case] in Hebei province, where we're well connected to the local government,' Mr Lee said.
