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The Chinese owner of British Steel is asking the UK government to “respect and protect” its rights as a foreign investor after the minister dramatically seized control of the company over the weekend.
Jingye, who owns a British steel maker since 2020, also defended the company’s ownership rights, saying it had protected more than 4,800 jobs over the past five years despite challenges such as Brexit.
In his first public comment on Saga, Jingye British Steel CEO Zengwei An issued a statement to the Financial Times expressing his “understanding” of the government-passed emergency law.
Jingye UK said it will engage in “active communication” to “seek for the right solutions that will ensure a bright future for British steel.”
However, the company “requires that the UK government respect and protect Jingye’s legitimate rights and interests as a foreign investor.”
Jingye’s intervention came after the UK’s business secretary Jonathan Reynolds appeared to have announced over the weekend that Chinese companies were no longer welcome in the UK’s steel industry.
Asked on Sunday if he would take Chinese companies to the UK steel industry in the future, Reynolds told Sky News: The British government has been “too naive” in the past about UK-China trade, he added.
The business secretary also argued that “China’s major industrial companies” had “direct ties with the Chinese Communist Party,” but he added that he “doesn’t accused China of being right behind.”
Downing Street said on Monday it would take a consistent, long-term strategic approach to managing its relationship with Beijing, but it would not rule out allowing Chinese buyers to take over domestic steel assets in the future. A spokesman for the UK Prime Minister said “we are not going to go beyond potential commercial negotiations in the future.”
Jingye bought British Steel from bankruptcy in March 2020 and pledged to invest £1.2 billion in Steelmaker. However, last week we were able to linger long-term consultations with the UK government over taxpayer assistance.
Jingye rejected an offer of £500 million from the Minister to invest in green technology after seeking up to £1 billion for a £2 billion project to build two electric arc furnaces at Scunthorpe’s main site.
The government said it intervened after the pastor realized that Jinsy was intended to close the explosion furnace, the last two in Britain. The closure would have left the UK as the only G20 country that had no ability to make major steel.
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Reynolds says finding third-party buyers is a preferred option for the government, but he acknowledges that nationalization is likely.
Ministers have worked with the company’s UK managers to ensure the raw materials needed to run the reactor. The government on Monday approved the appointment of two long-term employees by British Steel, interim chief executives and chief executives.
In a statement, Jingye said it was “unshakable” and “unshakable” in its commitment to improving British steel operations and sustainable development over the past five years.
The company added that despite challenges such as Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, it had made “critical project investments to ensure normal production and operation of British steel.”
“We are contributing to the economic growth of our community by protecting over 4,800 jobs and providing quality products and services to our domestic and international customers. This is obvious to everyone,” Jingye said.
