Chinese company gets Zelezara Smederevo - Government accepts HBIS' offer, over USD 300 million investments in the pipeline

The Committee for the Sale of Assets of Zelezara Smederevo opened today, on the premises of the Economy Ministry, a financial bid submitted by the only participant in this process - China's He Steel (former English name: HBIS. In the presence of He Steel representatives, the Committee determined that the offer had been submitted in line with the call and that it met all prescribed conditions.

As the Economy Ministry said in a release, He Steel made a binding offer to buy all 98 lots for a total of EUR 46 milllion. This bid is above the minimum price from the Call for Bids (EUR 45.7 million), so the ministry made a decision, at the Committee's proposal, to announce the only candidate for the buyer.

Once the agency authorized to prevent money laundering states its opinion, pursuant to the Privatization Law, a contract of sale of aforementioned assets of Zelezara Smederevo steelworks will be concluded.

Projected investments in Smederevo exceed EUR 300 million, which covers investments in fixed assets and infrastructure. The aim of these investments is to modernize the equipment, improve efficiency, expand the range of product portfolio, and enhance the ecological environment.

Based on the business plan and current market circumstances, the plan is to achieve a maximum capacity of 2.1 million tonnes.

The Economy Ministry's release reads that He Steel plans to offer all current employees of Zelezara (about 5,050 of them) jobs, professional development and training, as well as additional specialization through optimized allocation of staff and reorganization. He Steel also intends to provide all employees with the same level of fees and benefits as they had at Zelezara Smederevo, that is, in line with what is stipulated in the existing collective agreement.

Chinese company ranks 239th on Fortune's list

The Economy Ministry of Serbia has announced that He Steel is a conglomerate and a giant of global proportions in the domain of steel production. Although the core business of this company is steel production and sales, He Steel is also engaged in the mining, financial and metal industries, and it manages modern logistics centers and takes active part in other related inustries. On a global level, this company employs more than 120,000 workers and makes a significant contribution to the social welfare in all geographic areas where it operates.

He Steel ranks 239th on the 2015 Fortune Global 500 list. As the largest steel manufacturer in China, this company takes pride in its annual production capacity of 50 million tonnes. The Group possesses 37 blast furnace, 23 of which has a capacity of over 1,000 cubic meters, and it produced 47.8 million tonnes of steel in 2015. Its business revenues totaled USD 43.7 million in 2015.

He Steel has 70 direct and indirect companies outside the People's Republic of China, in more than 30 countries and regions, such as the United States of America, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. It also holds a majority stake in Duferco which possesses the largest independent global sales network in the steel industry.

Železara Smederevo d.o.o.

Vlada Republike Srbije

He Steel

HBIS

Zelezara Smederevo

steelworks

Aleksandar Vucic

privatization of steelworks in Smederevo

Economy Ministry

Privatization Law

steel

Duferco

galvanization