BEIJING, Oct. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- General Steel
Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or the "Company") (NYSE: GSI), a
leading non-state-owned steel producer in China, today announced that it has signed a
memorandum of understanding (the "MOU") with Tewoo Group Co., Ltd.
("Tewoo Group"), a Fortune Global 500 company, to co-develop bulk
commodity e-commerce business.
The MOU establishes a long-term strategic partnership (the
"Partnership") to mutually pursue business opportunities in bulk
commodity e-commerce, asset leasing, and financing. The Partnership
is consistent with the Company's previously stated intention to
invest into high-growth, high-margin industries in order to expand
its business scope.
Under the terms of the MOU:
- Tewoo Group intends to make an equity investment into General
Steel, with specific terms to be subsequently and mutually
determined by both parties;
- The Partnership will co-develop bulk commodity e-commerce
business;
- The Partnership will co-construct a logistic base in Maoming
City in China's Guangdong Province, where General Steel has
strategic advantages in land reserve; and
- The Partnership will co-develop financial services, including
capital lease, trade financing, and credit facilities to capture
the strong demand for such services from the e-commerce platform's
customers.
Tewoo Group ranks 185th on the Fortune Global 500 List in 2014,
is the largest state-owned enterprise in Tianjin, and is one of the 20 largest trading
enterprises in China supported by
the Ministry of Commerce. Tewoo Group's e-commerce platform, Tewoo
Bulk Commodity, currently offers a wide selection of bulk
commodities, including iron and steel, nonferrous metal, petroleum,
coal and coke, minerals, chemicals, and building materials.
"We are very delighted to announce this strategic partnership
with Tewoo Group, one of China's
leading state-owned enterprises, marking our entry into the
fast-growing and profitable bulk commodity e-commerce platform,"
said Henry Yu, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of General Steel, "Tewoo Group is a proven leader
with expansive customer reach, and we believe our strategic
collaboration will not only mutually benefit both parties, but will
also effectively help General Steel expand into targeted
high-growth and high-margins industries with mitigated
risks."
"Moreover, we are excited about the attractive market
opportunities for financial services within the e-commerce
platform, as well as General Steel's prospects of cross-selling its
steel products into the platform's large customer base. We
anticipate this partnership will help General Steel capitalize on
significant growth opportunities and provide positive returns for
our shareholders," Mr. Yu
concluded.
About Tewoo Group
Founded in 1993, Tewoo Group, also known as Tianjin Materials
and Equipment Group Corporation, is a diversified state-owned
enterprise that operates businesses in commodity trade, logistics,
real estate development, financial services, and vocational
education. Tewoo Group is also Ranked 51st on the China List of Top
100 Enterprises and 185th on the Fortune Global 500 List. In 2013,
Tewoo Group's total revenue reached RMB
337.9 billion. For more information, please visit
http://www.tewoo.com/en/.
About General Steel
General Steel, headquartered in Beijing, China, produces a variety of steel
products including rebar, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. The
Company has operations in China's
Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region, and Tianjin municipality
with seven million metric tons of crude steel production capacity
under management. For more information, please visit
www.gshi-steel.com.
To be added to the General Steel email list to receive Company
news, or to request a hard copy of the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K, please send your request to
generalsteel@asiabridgegroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's
current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial,
political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on
information currently available to it. The Company cannot assure
that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management
in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate,
or that any projections will be realized. Actual results could
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements as a result of inaccurate assumptions or a number of
risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are set
forth in the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 under "Risk Factors" and
elsewhere, and include: (a) those risks and uncertainties related
to general economic conditions in China, including regulatory factors that may
affect such economic conditions; (b) whether the Company is able to
manage its planned growth efficiently and operate profitable
operations, including whether its management will be able to
identify, hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required
personnel or that management will be able to successfully manage
and exploit existing and potential market opportunities; (c)
whether the Company is able to generate sufficient revenues or
obtain financing to sustain and grow its operations; (d) whether
the Company is able to successfully fulfill our primary
requirements for cash; and (e) other risks, including those
disclosed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K,
filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the
date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation
to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements,
whether to reflect new information, future events or
otherwise.
Contact Us
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Joyce Sung
Tel: +1-347-534-1435
Email: joyce.sung@gshi-steel.com
Asia Bridge Capital Limited
Carene Toh
Tel: +1-888-957-3362
Email: generalsteel@asiabridgegroup.com
SOURCE General Steel Holdings, Inc.