Amid the economic downturn, Chinese steel enterprises are experiencing exacerbated losses. Shandong Taishan Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Taishan Iron and Steel Group”) has recorded a default amount of 1.172 billion yuan in commercial bills, marking the first “default” steel enterprise in 2025. On February 17th, hundreds of people involved in financing gathered outside the company’s office building and factory entrances, demanding the company to repay financing funds and settle accounts.
Videos circulating online showed numerous protesters gathered in front of Taishan Iron and Steel Group’s office building on February 17th, demanding the company to repay financing funds and settle accounts, facing off with police and security guards. On the road outside the factory, protesters blocked it, continuously shouting “Repay the money, repay the money…”
Despite multiple related videos being quickly deleted on mainland social media, they were preserved overseas. (Refer to the X account, which regularly posts mainland human rights news.)
Wanlian Net reported on February 13th that recently, the Shanghai Bill Trading Exchange released the January 2025 “List of Acceptors in Default” and “Ongoing Default List.” Among them, in the “List of Acceptors in Default as of January 31, 2025,” Shandong Taishan Iron and Steel Group had an outstanding balance of 1.172 billion yuan.
The report mentioned that as one of the large private enterprises in Shandong Province, Shandong Taishan Iron and Steel Group has experienced bill defaults multiple times since 2024, but they were mostly able to settle by the end of the month and issue acceptor notices, citing reasons such as “our company’s financial personnel did not respond to payment reminders in a timely manner.” However, by December 2024, the group’s overdue commercial bills amounted to 444 million yuan at the end of the month, marking the first appearance on the Exchange’s “Ongoing Default List,” resulting in a two-year suspension of its acceptance, discount, guarantee, and pledge functions by the Exchange.
By the end of January 2025, the overdue balance of Taishan Iron and Steel Group’s commercial bills had further increased to 1.172 billion yuan, with an outstanding acceptance balance of 2.766 billion yuan. Subsequent maturity of commercial bills may lead to further increase in overdue balances.
As early as September 2020, the Jinan Intermediate People’s Court reported that due to a loan contract dispute with the Chatra sub-branch of the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., Ltd., Taishan Iron and Steel Group and its chairman Wang Yongsheng were restricted from high consumption. The company also faced multiple lawsuits.
According to official information, Taishan Iron and Steel Group is a large enterprise group primarily engaged in steel production, integrating various industries. It is the only full-process stainless steel producer in Shandong Province and the province’s largest cold-rolled thin plate production base.
Radio Free Asia reported that sources disclosed that two years ago, the Ji’nan Laiwu District government requested the company to relocate, promising significant compensation but has not fulfilled it. Last year, the local government borrowed billions from Taishan Iron and Steel for wage payments, leading to a break in the company’s capital chain, facing bankruptcy with investors unable to retrieve funds and settlements unable to be processed.
According to a report from Sina.com, sourced from the Foshan Metal Materials Industry Association, on February 12th this year, Wang Suilian, Vice Chairman of the Shandong Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, Chairperson of the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, and President of the Provincial Chambers of Commerce, accompanied by Zhang Yong, Deputy Minister of the Ji’nan Municipal Party Committee United Front Department and Party Secretary of the Municipal Federation of Industry and Commerce, conducted a research visit to Taishan Iron and Steel Group.
With the continuous decline in the price of Chinese steel and growing losses, steel enterprises are frequently facing difficulties. According to reports from mainland media, since July 2024, the former hundred-billion steel enterprise Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co., Ltd. and its 27 subsidiaries have been successively ruled for consolidation and reorganization by the courts. Since August 2024, the profitability rate of Chinese steel mills has sharply declined, with difficulties in selling steel products in the spot market, continuous weakening demand, and numerous factories joining the maintenance ranks, causing a large number of factories to stop production due to bankruptcy.
Reported by the Economic Daily News in January this year, among the listed steel companies that had already disclosed their 2024 performance forecasts, the loss in net profit attributable to the owners in 2024 had expanded compared to 2023 for Sansteel Minluan, Linggang Shares, Bayi Iron and Steel, and Shandong Iron and Steel. Hanggang Shares turned from profit to loss in 2024, while both Wujin Stainless and Fushun Special Steel saw a significant decrease in their net profits attributable to the owners in 2024.