China' largest steel maker, Shanghai Baogang Group Company (Baosteel), said it expects to increase its rank among the world's top 500 this year, with 2004 sales revenue forecast at 165.1 billion yuan (19.94 billion US dollars).

The figure far exceeds its 120.4 billion yuan sales revenue in 2003 which made Baosteel rank the 372nd among the world top 500 for the first time, said Baosteel's President and General Manager Xie Qihua.

Xie said Baosteel aimed to go higher among the top 500 and eventually become one of the world top three steel giants.

The steel giant stands out among domestic firms in the latest rating report of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services with a credit rating of BBB+, for its successful reforms in management and production, as well as the massive potential for further expansion.

Baosteel annexed two smaller state-owned, money-losing steel companies in 1998, which decreased its rating. But the annexed companies performed well, with decreased debt, improvement in capital structure and cash flow, strong production capacity and optimized product structure.

The company produced 21.41 million tons of steel in 2004, the first steel company in China realizing an annual output of more than 20 million tons.

According to Baosteel's blueprint for the year 2006 to 2010, the company plans to increase its annual steel output to 30 million tons by 2010.

One or two new large-scale steel factories will be built at home and abroad in the coming years, so as to further expand Baosteel's production capacity to realize the goal, said Xie.

Baosteel is China's largest iron and steel conglomerate. It nowranks sixth in the world with an annual steel output of 20 milliontons.

Source: Xinhua