BEIJING, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- General Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or "the Company") (NYSE: GSI), one of China's leading non-state-owned producers of steel products and aggregators of domestic steel companies, today announced that its Shaanxi Longmen Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. joint venture ("Longmen JV") will hold its 2009 Annual Distributor Conference in Xian, China from December 14-16, 2009.
More than 100 distributors from provinces including Gansu, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Sichuan are expected to participate in the event. The Company classifies its distributors by three categories: Strategic Partner, Major Distributor and General Distributor based on annual sales volume and market share within its geographic region. Different payment terms and conditions for the Company's products are given to distributors based upon their classification.
"Our goal for the event is to lock-in around 70% of our 2010 total sales volume with distributors while the rest of the sales will be made by direct contracts throughout the year," said General Steel's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry Yu. "Based upon our preliminary discussions with distributors, we are confident that we will be able to achieve this goal as we continue to experience strong demand for our products in our addressable markets, in particular, Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces which are benefiting from China's intensive stimulus-related spending on infrastructure and earthquake rebuilding projects. In addition, Gansu province, which through the newly created Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone, will undergo significant infrastructure-related development in the coming years."
China's State Council Information Office approved the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone development program in June of 2009. The economic zone covers approximately 70,000 square kilometers spanning two western provinces and seven cities with construction planned from 2009 to 2020. General Steel's Longmen JV is located in the northern part of the zone and in September of 2009, the Company opened a sales office in Tianshui. The Company believes that demand for its products will continue to grow as the economic zone becomes more established and the government encourages additional "Go West" development objectives.
About General Steel Holdings, Inc.
General Steel Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: GSI), headquartered in Beijing, China, operates a diverse portfolio of Chinese steel companies. With 6.3 million metric tons of aggregate production capacity, its companies serve various industries and produce a variety of steel products including rebar, hot-rolled carbon and silicon sheet, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. General Steel Holdings, Inc. has steel operations in Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin municipality. For more information, please visit http://www.gshi-steel.com .
Information Regarding 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 Form 10-K, filed with the SEC. 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.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
Jing Ou-Yang
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Phone: +86-10-5879-7346
Email: jing.ouyang@gshi-steel.com
Justin Knapp
Ogilvy Financial, Beijing
Phone: +86-10-8520-6556
Email: gsi@ogilvy.com
In the United States:
Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
Phone: +1-646-460-9989
Email: gsi@ogilvy.com
