British Steel

The Chinese company that formerly owned British Steel demanded Sunday compensation from the UK government for investment losses following the nationalisation of the manufacturer last week. The British government took operational control of the company last year after Jingye Group said that it was considering closing the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant in northern England, the last in the United Kingdom to make "virgin steel" from raw materials. Jingye Group said in a WeChat statement that the nationalisation move tarnished the credibility of the British government, spooked international investors and caused great losses to the company's operation and British taxpayers' funds. It also demanded that the UK government stop "trampling on international investment rules." The Chinese company announced it had initiated negotiation procedures under relevant bilateral investment agreements, reserving all rights, including to international arbitration. Jingye said it will also represen

British Steel has announced plans to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in Scunthorpe, marking the end of more than 160 years of steel production in the town

British Steel said Thursday that it is planning to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in the northern England town of Scunthorpe, after its Chinese owner Jingye failed to agree a rescue package with the UK government. Unions called on the government to help secure the future of the company, which Jingye said is suffering daily losses of around 700,000 pounds (USD 900,000) despite the Chinese firm investing more than 1.2 billion to maintain operations since its takeover of British Steel in 2020. The company, Britain's second-biggest steelmaker, blamed highly challenging market conditions, the imposition of tariffs, and higher environmental costs relating to the production of high-carbon steel. British Steel said it is consulting with unions over the the decision to close the blast furnaces and steelmaking operations and reduce rolling mill capacity, potentially as early as June. Between 2,000 to 2,700 jobs are potentially at risk. The company had sought support

Britain said on Monday it was in talks with steel makers, including British Steel, owned by China's Jingye Group, and India's Tata to help secure the industry's long-term future

Gupta, who heads the privately-held GFG Alliance, has snapped up steel assets around the world and made repeated offers to buy British Steel

The company failed to get a last-minute rescue deal from the government after running into a cash crunch from Brexit uncertainty, as well as high energy and labor costs

The firm said that the plant had returned to profit in the first few months of its financial year,