China to close 7.8m tonnes of outdated steel capacity

China aims to shut down 7.8 million tonnes of outdated steel capacity this year as part of its plans to consolidate and upgrade the sprawling and chaotic sector, the country’s industry ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The steel closure target is the same as the one set last year, with the government keen to tackle chronic overcapacity problems in the industry.

According to industry estimates, total crude steel capacity now exceeds 900 million tonnes, compared to last year’s output of 716.5 million tonnes.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/1212097/china-close-78m-tonnes-outdated-steel-capacity