Hebei Iron & Steel Buys Serbian Mill

Bloomberg: Serbia to Sell Steel Plant to Chinese Hebei as Elections Loom

Serbia will sell its sole steelmaker Zelezara Smederevo to China’s Hebei Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. taking the sole offer for its money-losing plant to save 5,000 jobs as the government seeks re-election this month.

The Shijiazhuang, China-based company offered 46 million euros ($52 million) for Zelezara and may invest more than 300 million euros in upgrades over unspecified period of time, including in production of galvanized and automotive-grade steel, Serbia’s Economy Ministry said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday.

...Zelezara Smederevo, which ended 2014 with a 11.5 billion dinar ($107 million) loss, continues to receive state aid this year with the government setting aside $34 million, contrary to its commitments to the EU which ban aid to Zelezara from February 2015.

Another money losing steel mill...