Zelezara Smederevo sale contract signing on April 18th - EU wants China's company to guarantee export of nothing but Serbian steel

A contract of sale of Zelezara Smederevo steelworks to China's He Steel will be signed Monday, April 18 at 12 noon, on the company's premises, the Economy Ministry announced in a release.
The Government of Serbia accepted He Steel's offer on April 5th to buy Zelezara Smederevo for EUR 46 million. The Chinese company plans to invest EUR 300 million in that factory, reach maximum production of 2.1 million tonnes, and keep all 5,050 workers.
He Steel is the largest steel manufacturer in China. It has an annual production capacity of 50 million tonnes. The Group owns 37 blast furnaces, 23 of which have a capacity of over 1,000 cubic meters, and it produced 47.8 million tonnes of steel in 2015. The business revenue of He Steel amounted to USD 43.7 million in 2015, while its assets totaled USD 53 billion.
He Steel has 70 direct and indirect companies outside 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.
EU wants China's company to guarantee it will export only Serbian steel
Brussels asks for guarantees that He Steel will be exporting only products made in that steelworks if it takes over Zelezara Smederevo. Also, Serbia should submit a proof that it did not help the Smederevo steel plant since February 2015, when new rules governing the state assistance to that industry were introduced in the EU.

Železara Smederevo d.o.o.

Vlada Republike Srbije

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Bruxelles

He Steel

privatization of Zelezara Smederevo

steel production

blast furnace in Smederevo