China, largest importer of iron ore, which buys around two-thirds of the world's 1-billion-ton plus sea-borne iron ore, has been attempting to regain the edge in pricing the steel making raw material since grudgingly accepting an industry-wide shift to spot pricing after four decades of a yearly-set price ending in 2010.
Under new rules, traders and steel mills seeking a new licence to import will now have to trade at least 500,000 tons of iron ore on the platform set up by the China Beijing International Mining Exchange (CBMX), a document on the regulations obtained by Reuters showed. Only Chinese firms are eligible for import licences.
Firms applying for new licences will have to show that they have traded a minimum of 500,000 tons of iron ore with CBMX since it was launched, according to the list of requirements in the document distributed to traders.
They also stipulate that companies should have imported more than 1 million tons last year.
Steel mills applying for a licence are also required to have an annual output of more than 1 million tons of crude steel and steel making facilities that meet state environmental requirements, according to the document.
Importers already holding a licence would not be affected by the new regulations, officials at two state-owned Chinese traders said.
-Reuters
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