Masteel Group

1990s to present

In 1993, a subsidiary was incorporated as Maanshan Iron and Steel Company Limited, which the original "Ma'anshan Iron and Steel Company" was renamed to "Magang Holding Company" .[4] The former was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on 3 November 1993[9] and the Shanghai Stock Exchange on 6 January 1994;[10] the latter, was renamed to Magang (Group) Holding Company Limited in 1998.[4] Magang (Group) Holding Company Limited was also known as Masteel Group for short. Maanshan Iron and Steel Company Limited was one of the first state-owned enterprises of the People's Republic of China to be a listed company.[8] It was also the largest H shares initial public offering at that time.[11]

After the split, Masteel Group had transformed into a holding company which owns the controlling stake of the listed company, as well as other auxiliary divisions such as education, hospitals and mining.[12] According to news report, the unlisted portion of the group also had a property development division. In 2012, the public relation division of the group had told the journalist that the real estates were for the employees of the group, and not-for-sale to the general public.[13] However, some of the fellow steel producers were selling their developed property to the general public.[13] Nevertheless, Masteel Group purchased a land in 2009, but sold the land and the properties that was under construction to other investors in 2018.[14] A section of that land had been developed by Masteel Group and the apartments and house were sold already.[14]

In 2003, the university of the group for the continuous education of the staff, was transformed into Anhui Vocational College of Metallurgy and Technology. The university itself was founded in 1983.[15]

In 2004, Masteel Group transferred 17 primary and secondary schools to the relevant provincial authority.[16] In 2005, the hospital of the group was sold to the employees of the hospital, with the group retained 27.79% shares.[17] Hengkang Medical Group, a listed company, was attempted to purchase the hospital from the new owners in 2018.[18] As of 2018, Masteel Group still owned 6.48% shares of the hospital.[17]

After not involving in steel business directly since the establishment of the listed subsidiary in 1993, the Masteel Group and the listed subsidiary formed a joint venture in trading scarp steel in 2012,[19] which Masteel Group owned 55% stake of the joint venture, while the listed subsidiary owned 45% stake. In 2019, a CN¥300 million capital increase of the scarp steel trading joint venture was announced.[20]

In terms of assets, as at 31 December 2015, Masteel Group, including the listed subsidiary, owned CN¥82.276 billion of total assets in consolidated financial statement in the Chinese accounting standards.[21] In the same reporting period, the listed subsidiary owned CN¥62.454 billion.[22]

According to a news report, the mining subsidiary of Masteel Group had significantly invested in mine rehabilitation, which from 2014 to the date of the news article was written (circa 2018), the subsidiary had planted 12,000 trees, as well as a capital investment of more than CN¥7 million.[23] The subsidiary was established in 2011 by merging subsidiaries and divisions into one subsidiary; The mining subsidiary owned 5 mines, namely: Nanshan Mine, Gushan Mine , Taochong Mine , Luohe Mine and Zhangzhuang Mine .[24]

In mid-2019, central government owned China Baowu Steel Group acquired 51% stake of Masteel Group from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of Anhui Provincial People's Government for free. The acquisition also included the indirect controlling stake (45.54%) of the list subsidiary Maanshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd.[25] Baowu was owned by Central Government (The State Council)'s SASAC. According to World Steel Association, China Baowu Steel Group was the world second-largest steel producer by volume in year 2018, while Masteel Group was ranked the 16th. In 2018, China Baowu Steel Group and their subsidiaries had produced 67.43 million metric tons of steel, while Masteel Group, including the subsidiary Maanshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., had produced 19.64 million metric tons.[26] It was speculated by the journalist that the enlarged China Baowu Steel Group could reach 100 million metric tons of steel production capacity by their methodology,[27] despite by equity ratio, Baowu only owned 22.23% shares of the indirect subsidiary Maanshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., the steel production entity of Masteel Group.[28]