By 2005, the company plans to reduce energy consumption in steel production by 30 percent and its annual coal consumption will drop from the present 4.1 to 2.8 million tons, according to Luo Bingsheng, one of the board chairmen of the group.

These reductions will in turn reduce the company's discharge of sulphur dioxide and dust by 31 percent, Luo said.

In addition to cutting energy consumption in production, the company has made great progress in introducing energy-efficient lighting.

In 1996, the State Development Planning Commission, the State Economic and Trade Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology initiated the launching of 'green light' projects across the nation.

In co-operation with the United Nations Development Program, the State Economic and Trade Commission set up the China Green Lights Project Office.

At the beginning of this year, this office and the Beijing Energy Efficiency Center selected Shougang as a pilot location for its extensive installation of energy-efficient lamps in parts of its lighting system, said Hua Tiegang, an official in charge of energy at Shougang.

The company invited a series of public bids for the installation of more than 200,000 energy-efficient lamps to replace much of its traditional fluorescent lighting, Hua said.

Through this upgrade Shougang is expected to save more than 5 million kilowatt-hours (KWHs) of power each year. The power consumed by lighting now makes up only 10 per cent of the total power consumption of the company, he said.

Located in the western outskirts of Beijing, Shougang, with an annual steel output of 6 million tons, employs one-sixth of the total number of industrial workers in the capital and boasts 36 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) in annual sales.

With China gradually phasing out the import quota system on steel products, officials predict that domestic iron and steel companies will face increasingly fierce market competition in the coming years.

To survive the challenge, the management of the Shougang Group has mapped out new developing strategies for this year, hoping to build up its strength quickly, a Xinhua News Agency report said.

For example, the group will invest in new high technology to update its current product mix, will explore new growth areas by branching out into high-tech-related sectors and will expand their business abroad to seek financial and other support for possible strategic adjustments, the report said.

To maintain its position as one of China's leading iron and steel giants, the company is constantly expanding its high-tech business lines into software, information technology and other technology-intensive finished products.

In 2001, the company's strategic adjustments were well rewarded. About 18.4 billion yuan (US$2.22 billion) came from non-steel high-tech products, more than 50 percent of the company's total sales.

(China Daily October 8, 2002)