Jingye Group agreed in principle to acquire British Steel Corporation for £70 million.

It is understood that the government will provide assistance in the form of loan guarantees and other financial support.

Since the company entered bankruptcy liquidation in May, the British government has maintained the operation of British steel through the official bankruptcy management agency.

British Steel employs 4,000 people at its Scunthorpe and Tised plants and additionally supports 20,000 jobs in the supply chain.

The other 1000 duty stations also included these jobs in the French and Dutch-transactions.

It is expected that the agreement will be signed, but the company will continue to operate

Why is this news so important?

Gareth Stace, director of the UK lobbying organization UK Steel, told BBC Radio 4's Today that the acquired company was “an important asset to our country”, Because it accounts for one-third of British steel production, mainly from Scunthorpe.

He said that in the works of Scunthorpe, “very large investment is required “This is why

” Jingye wants to make a lot of investment, and the investment period is longer, so this is not to let the site run for a year or two. A few years. For me, I am The company’s understanding is about the future, so we won’t be back here after three years and five years.”

The company had previously worked with the Turkish national military retirement plan Oyak’s son. Company Ataer has conducted rescue negotiations.

What is the purpose of Jingye?

What did a steel producer from Hebei Province, southwest of Beijing, see in a troubled factory in Scunthorpe? It’s hard to know, especially when we don’t know much about the buyers of the British Steel Group.

There is almost no publicly available information – certainly no set of accounts – but the organization’s Facebook page praises its rapid rise, making it an important player in the steel industry in just 20 years.

The voice-over of one of the promotional videos says that in the process, it “applied an extraordinary path of development with wisdom and sweat,” and the same uniformed workforce is on its grand headquarters. smile.

On the surface, Chinese buyers are interested in products produced by British steel companies, and British steel companies are not interested in this. British Steel is an expert in railway track, “long material”, building girders and the collective terminology of high-quality steel wire used in automotive tires and many other industrial applications.

Jingye does not seem to enter the first two, so the purchase of British steel companies should bring some valuable technology and new product lines. This advantage must be inconsistent with the investment needs of Scunthorpe; if it is reported that Jingye hopes to increase production, the blast furnace and coke oven will have to be refurbished at an estimated price of 500 million pounds.

British steel workers will be hopeful that the industry promises long-term terminology, this is not another dawn of error.

According to Mr. Stass, the output of the British steel company complements the fine industry. He said that both British Steel and Jingye manufacture wire, but there is a key difference.

“In fact, the steel rails made of Inch Steel, high-quality rails and thicker parts, that is, the girders, but the fine industry is not manufactured. [So it] not only increased the variety of products that Jingye can produce. The number, and more importantly, ensures a foothold in the UK.”

Will the British steel company turn to safety now?

Mr. Stace said he believes that the UK steel industry can now compete on a global scale and that he is issuing a declaration to propose a change.

“But the problem we face is that our business environment in the UK is not competitive. The government can change this,” he added.

“I am talking about energy costs, business rates, procurement – the government buys more steel from the UK – free and fair trade, and more support for research and development [research and development]we will be when we leave the EU

He said: “What the government needs to do is to give us this kind of business prospects. We can thrive in the global market and create high-paying, highly skilled jobs for the UK. The economy.”

What will happen now?

It is expected that employees will be introduced to the latest developments when they go to work this morning. The official announcement should be announced on Monday morning or early afternoon.

In the long run, it is believed that although the Jingye Group has promised to increase production, it also warned that it may need to cut costs.

• British Steel: “We are worried about the future of the town”
• Chinese people “like to buy British steel companies”

According to reports, the Chinese group’s goal is to increase Scunthorpe’s production from 2.5 million tons per year to more than 3 million tons.

King’s Chairman Li Ganbo recently visited the British Steel Company’s factory and met with representatives of Scunthorpe’s Brigg and Goole constituency Nic Dakin and Andrew Percy.

Mr. Percy told the Grimsby Telegraph that he has secured the company’s future guarantees.

What is the union talking about?

The British trade union absorbed the old Iron Trade Federation (ISTC) agency, saying: “If confirmed, then we welcome a positive step towards ensuring the safety of British steel under the new ownership,

“Ataer and the current industry have been paying attention to this fact, correctly indicating that potential buyers believe that UK steel companies can have a sustainable future.

At the same time, Ross Murdoch, the national official of the minibus trade union, said: “On the surface, we cautiously welcomed the deal and ended up with 4,000 British steel workers at the end of the tunnel.

“GMB also met with Chairman Li and his senior team at Scunthorpe on October 30th.

“But the enthusiasm and enthusiasm of the Jingye team left a deep impression on us. “But the due diligence on the deal is very fast and the details will be very detailed.

British industry For many years, China has been flooding cheap steel, which has been plaguing people. In 2016, the EU imported cheap imports from Asia, forcing European manufacturers to lay off workers and lower prices, China’s steel industry imposes a tariff of up to 73.7%.

Who is the Jingye Group?

Jingye has 23,500 employees, mainly engaged in steel business, but also engaged in tourism, hotel industry and real estate industry.

Its total registered assets are 39 billion yuan (4.4 pounds) bn). According to its website, Jingye Group ranked 217 among the top 500 Chinese companies in 2019.

The company sells products nationwide and exports them to more than 80 countries and regions.

Jingye’s products have been used in major projects such as Beijing Daxing International Airport and Shijiazhuang Underground System.