The mainland may cancel some of the iron ore import licences held by steel mills and trading companies as part of efforts to make the ore import market less chaotic and curb speculative trading, industry sources say.
The market has come under the spotlight following the detention in Shanghai last week on spying charges of four employees of mining giant Rio Tinto. One of the four is an Australian, Stern Hu.
An executive at one steel mill said the China Iron and Steel Association and the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters were considering which companies could keep their licences. They were looking at factors including licensees' import volumes, financial strength and credibility, he said.
The executive said big companies and state-owned trading firms should not have big problems keeping their licences but some small privately owned trading companies risked losing theirs.
The association, the mainland's lead negotiator on the pricing of iron ore imports this year, remains locked in tough talks with foreign suppliers.
Currently, 112 steelmakers and trading companies are licensed to import iron ore, of which 70 are large steel mills regulated by the association and the rest trading companies supervised by the chamber.
The source said it was hard to predict how many companies would lose their licences, but the 21st Century Business Herald, quoting sources, put the number at around 20.
