Ministry Optimistic about Iron, Steel Industry in 2010

BEIJING, Feb. 22 --  A report by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the overall situation of China's iron and steel industry will be better than last year, thanks to the steady momentum of economic recovery.

The report said four factors will have positive impact on the iron and steel industry: increased government investment, a clear recovery of global economy, ample money supply in the market and a series of upcoming government policies aimed at promoting healthy development of the iron and steel industry.

However, the ministry held that the foundation of the current economic recovery still needs to be consolidated and external demand still falls short, creating fairly big difficulties for the operation of the iron and steel industry.

The report said in 2010 iron and steel companies must be prepared to face the challenges of over supply, sluggish international market and rising production cost.

In 2009, China's 68 large and medium sized iron and steel companies made 55.39 billion yuan ($8.12 billion) in profit, down 31.43 percent year-on-year.