BAOSHAN Iron & Steel Co., China’s biggest publicly traded steelmaker, yesterday surged the 10 percent daily limit in its Shanghai trading after announcing it would set up a 2 billion yuan (US$320 million) e-commerce unit to trade steel.

    Baoshan will hold 51 percent of the unit by folding in all of its stake in an existing e-commerce website, bsteel.com.cn, Shanghai-based Baoshan said in a statement.

    Parent Baosteel Group Corp. will invest 980 million yuan in the unit for the remaining stake, Baoshan said.

    Baoshan’s shares rose as much as 0.58 yuan for the biggest gain since Dec. 19 to 6.41 yuan on the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday.

    “Baoshan’s expansion into e-commerce sparked speculation of a higher valuation over the stock,” said Wu Kan, a money manager at Shanghai-based Dragon Life Insurance Co.

    Baoshan is joining other Chinese steel mills in diversifying as the industry struggles with record low prices because slowing economic growth is sapping demand.

    The profit margin at domestic steelmakers was 0.85 percent last year, the lowest among all industries, the China Iron & Steel Association said in a Jan. 29 statement. (SD-Agencies)