A Baosteel spokesman, contacted by telephone, declined to comment beyond repeating earlier statements that the company was always seeking an appropriate time to list abroad.

SHANGHAI SHARES SOAR

Baosteel's Shanghai-listed shares soared 110 percent to an all-time high last year, boosted by a big rally in the overall Chinese stock market as well as by a profit recovery among Chinese steel makers.

The listed company's third-quarter net profit jumped 42 percent from a year earlier to 4.71 billion yuan ($604 million), beating market expectations.

Baosteel has been showing signs of wanting to play a more active role in the global steel industry, and this could be helped by an international stock market listing.

Chairwoman Xie Qihua said in a statement at the start of this year that in addition to helping restructure the domestic steel industry, where the government is promoting mergers, Baosteel aimed to expand cooperation with foreign steel makers.

Xie told Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun in December that Baosteel might ask Nippon Steel Corp. and South Korea's POSCO to take stakes in it if Baosteel listed overseas.

Fitch Ratings said in a report on Wednesday that Baosteel's active participation in recent international negotiations on the price of iron ore showed China's growing influence over the global steel industry.

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