IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Baosteel project kicks off

Baosteel Group Corp's 69.68-billion-yuan ($11 billion) steel project, delayed for more than two years, may start producing high-grade sheet metal for use in automobiles and appliances in 2015.

Construction of two blast furnaces for the company was scheduled to start on Thurday, Jia Jinlong, a Baosteel engineer, told reporters in Zhanjiang, the site of the plant in Guangdong province. The project, which is being undertaken on the city's Donghai Island, will contain an iron ore terminal capable of berthing 300,000-metric-ton ships, a 5-million-ton pellet plant, a coal-fired power plant and water-processing operations.

Stock systems to be improved

The China Securities Regulatory Commission will cancel about 40 percent of its administrative approval projects this year, the commission said in Beijing on Thursday.

The commission said its most urgent task is to further reform the securities regulation system and perfect the systems governing the issuance of shares, the exit of listed companies from the stock market and the payment of dividends.

Nuclear safety plan gets nod

China, the world's biggest energy user, has adopted a five-year plan to ensure nuclear safety in the country.

That decision came in response to the nuclear leak that occurred in Japan last year after an earthquake and tsunami hit the island nation. The Chinese government decided afterward to suspend giving approvals to new nuclear projects.

The quality of the country's nuclear plants is "under control" and they meet national standards and standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 06/01/2012 page13)