Saturday, 26 Dec 2009
Bloomberg reported that Wuhan Iron & Steel Group plans to boost production by 24% next year as demand recovers from 2009 which it said was the toughest year in the company’s history.

Wuhan Steel in a statement said that Wuhan Steel expects to produce 37.9 million tonnes of crude steel in 2010 up from a forecast 30.5 million tonnes this year. The group aims to earn CNY 150 billion (USD 22 billion) in revenue next year.

China’s USD 586 billion stimulus spending has boosted steel demand from automakers, home-appliance manufacturers and builders. The measure helped domestic steelmakers return to profit in May after seven straight months of losses because of the global economic crisis.

Wuhan Steel said that “This has been the most difficult year in our history. The economy is improving, but there isn’t a fundamental turnaround. We should grasp the opportunity to overcome the impact of the crisis.”