China's 150 Million Tons of Steel Cuts Seen Too Small, Too Slow
- Steel plan disappoints Macquarie, Capital Economics, Argonaut
- Country produced about half the world's steel in 2015
As much as 150 million tons of capacity will be shut under a five-year blueprint that’s part of a swathe of supply-side reforms directed by President Xi Jinping.
Photographer: ChinaFotoPress via Getty ImagesPlans to shrink China’s bloated steel industry will probably fail to stem industry losses or curb the deluge of exports that’s hurting producers from India to the U.S. and Europe.
As much as 150 million tons of capacity will be shut under a five-year blueprint that’s part of a swathe of supply-side reforms directed by President Xi Jinping. The government is trimming the industry as demand sags after decades of expansion. The cuts, amounting to 13 percent of capacity at most, fall short of requirements, according to analysts from Capital Economics Ltd., Macquarie Group Ltd. and Argonaut Securities (Asia) Ltd.