Ms. Wu: Puda Coal is one of the leading operators of coal washing facilities in Shanxi province. The company currently possesses 3.5 million metric tons of annual coking coal washing capacity. Currently, Puda Coal is also pursuing a strategic plan to move upstream into coal mining. Puda Coal, including its predecessor, has 15 years of history and is headquartered in Shanxi province, one of the richest coal reserve provinces in China. Our coal washing business and the target coal mining business are both located there. The company had been listed on OTC Bulletin Board from 2005 to September 2009. Since September 2009, our stock has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange AMEX.
TWST: What is the annual consumption of coking coal in China?
Ms. Wu: Demand for cleaned coal is driven mainly by demand for steel. The primary customers for cleaned coal are coking companies and steel manufacturers. We believe that the outlook for China's steel-making industry also remains promising because of the continuing implementation of China's 4 trillion-yuan economic stimulus package, which encourages infrastructure development projects, such as the construction of railway and motor vehicle manufacturing as well as real estate projects, should drive the demand for steel. We expect that such demand should provide significant opportunities for suppliers of cleaned coking coal, like Puda Coal.
The production of coking coal industry in China is around 400 million to 500 million MT per year. About 35% of this is washed coal. However, since most of the coke cleaning operators are private companies, it is difficult to give you an exact number of the annual amount.
Tickers included in this excerpt: PUDA
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