Baosteel to overtake Nippon Steel as No. 2 steelmaker

Baosteel to overtake Nippon Steel as No. 2 steelmaker in 2009. China’s Baosteel Group Corp is expected to overtake Nippon Steel Corp as the world’s second-largest steelmaker this year in terms of output, Chinese industry sources said. The sources said Baosteel Group posted 31.58 million tons in crude steel production on a consolidated basis in the January-October period, already topping Nippon Steel’s forecast that the Japanese steelmaker’s group output will total below 30 million tons for the whole year. The change reflects the rise of China and the economic slump of Japan. It is also symbolic of the shift in the balance of power between Japanese and Chinese companies as Shanghai-based Baosteel Group received technical assistance from Nippon Steel in the past.