China Baowu puts deal for Tsingshan nickel assets on hold - report

BEIJING (Reuters) - China Baowu Steel Group, the world's largest steelmaker, has put on hold the purchase of some Indonesian nickel assets owned by Tsingshan Holding Group, according to a Chinese media report.

Chinese nickel giant Tsingshan planned to sell controlling stakes in projects in Indonesia's Morowali Industrial Park including eight ferro-nickel production lines and associated power plants valued at over $4 billion, according to media reports last year.

However, Baowu has become more cautious on the transaction following a change in its chairman and shrinking profits for both nickel and steel since the second half of 2022, business media Caixin reported late on Wednesday, citing several people familiar with the deal.

Baowu is reevaluating the deal, following the change in its management, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Neither Baowu nor Tsingshan could be immediately reached for comment.

Tsingshan had planned to sell off some of its ferro-nickel production, which is mainly used to make stainless steel, as it expanded its output of battery metals, Caixin said.

Tsingshan Group has started commercial production of refined nickel in Indonesia, Reuters reported last month, citing three sources familiar with the production.

(Reporting by Amy Lv, Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton in Beijing; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Rashmi Aich)