July 28 -- Guangzhou Iron and Steel (600894) recorded a loss of 129 million yuan in the first half, with loss per share of 0.178 yuan, reports China Business News, citing a company filing.

The company had recorded a net profit of 49.06 million yuan in the first half of 2010.

Guangzhou Steel had recorded weak earnings for years due to the sluggish domestic steel market and the international financial crisis.

According to a Guangzhou Steel insider, the company had previously sought to be restructured by Baosteel Group, which had committed to build steel production facilities at Zhanjiang in Guangdong province. However, Baosteel Group had yet to obtain approval for its Zhanjiang steel program.

Guangzhou Steel finally turned to another restructurer, Guangzhou Guangri Group, and will be restructured into a maker of elevators once the restructuring gets the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

According to China Merchants Securities (600999), Guangri will list its entire elevator business and become the only listed electrical asset platform of Guangzhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.