General Steel Forms Joint Venture with Tianjin Materials and Equipment Group

BEIJING, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- General Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or "the Company") (NYSE: GSI), one of China's leading non-state-owned producers of steel products and aggregators of domestic steel companies, today announced that it has formed a new joint venture, Tianwu General Steel Material Trading Co., Ltd. ("Tianwu JV") with Tianjin Materials and Equipment Group Corporation ("TME Group"). The contributed capital of Tianwu JV is approximately $2.9 million (or RMB20 million), of which General Steel will hold a 60% controlling interest.

Tianwu JV will source raw materials, including domestic and overseas iron ore, and is expected to supply approximately 37.5% to 50% of General Steel's iron-ore needs, amounting to approximately two to three million metric tons on an annual basis.

On September 3, 2010, Tianwu JV entered into an iron ore Sales and Purchase Contract with Minera Santa Fe, a Chilean iron ore supplier. Pursuant to the contract, Tianwu JV will receive favorable pricing on the purchase of 138,000 tons of iron ore for the remainder of 2010.

"TME Group is an established leader in commodity trading and our joint venture affords both flexibility and quality in our iron ore supply for steel production," said General Steel's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry Yu. "The Sales and Purchase Contract between Tianwu JV and Minera Santa Fe marks the beginning of our long-term strategy of establishing close relationships with overseas suppliers that will grant us high quality iron ore resources at relatively low costs. With a healthy supply of iron ore for our Longmen production facility, Tianwu JV will place us in an advantageous position as we work to meet the robust demand for steel production in China's western regions."

Mr. Zhizhong Wang, TME Group's Chief Executive Officer commented, "We are very pleased to be entering into this agreement with General Steel. As an established and reliable partner, General Steel offers proven credibility, a stable business record, and steel production facilities with clear and visible demand. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship."

About General Steel Holdings, Inc.

General Steel Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: GSI), headquartered in Beijing, China, operates a diverse portfolio of Chinese steel companies. With 6.3 million metric tons of aggregate production capacity, its companies serve various industries and produce a variety of steel products including rebar, hot-rolled carbon and silicon sheet, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. General Steel Holdings, Inc. has steel operations in Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin municipality. For more information, please visit http://www.gshi-steel.com .

About Tianjin Materials and Equipment Group Corporation

Founded in 1993, Tianjin Materials and Equipment Group Corporation, or TME Group, (formerly known as the Tianjin Bureau of Materials) is a large, diversified state-owned enterprise headquartered in Tianjin. TME Group focuses mainly on commodity trading and has registered capital of approximately RMB2.46 billion. Listed among the top 100 enterprises in China, the TME Group is the largest SOE trading enterprise in Tianjin and holds the Coal Business Qualification and Iron Ore Importing License, importing high quality iron ore from international sources including Australia, Brazil and Indonesia.

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial, political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on information currently available to it. The Company cannot assure that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projections will be realized. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of inaccurate assumptions or a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere, and include: (a) those risks and uncertainties related to general economic conditions in China, including regulatory factors that may affect such economic conditions; (b) whether the Company is able to manage its planned growth efficiently and operate profitable operations, including whether its management will be able to identify, hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required personnel or that management will be able to successfully manage and exploit existing and potential market opportunities; (c) whether the Company is able to generate sufficient revenues or obtain financing to sustain and grow its operations; (d) whether the Company is able to successfully fulfill our primary requirements for cash and (e) other risks, including those disclosed in the Company's Form 10-K, filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

    For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

    In China:

     Jing Ou-Yang
     General Steel Holdings, Inc.
     Tel:   +86-10-5879-7346
     Email: [email protected]

     Justin Knapp
     Ogilvy Financial, Beijing
     Tel:   +86-10-8520-6556
     Email: [email protected]

    In the United States:

     Jessica Barist Cohen
     Ogilvy Financial, New York
     Tel:   +1-646-460-9989
     Email: [email protected]

SOURCE General Steel Holdings, Inc.