ABSTRACT
In preparation for its listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange the company was split, as is often the case, into a core of the best performing sections of the company and a holding company under whose direct control came all the ancillary facilities and services, including the bulk of the provision for retirement pensions. The core took on an appearance more likely to attract investment on the stock market, with a leaner workforce engaged in the core business of steel production, shorn of the traditional accumulated social welfare burdens associated with state enterprises. The new company was, however, to have a Party committee in addition to the board. While the stock market prospectus aimed at the Shanghai market was quite open about this, the Hong Kong prospectus and annual reports avoided all mention of the Party and Party position in reporting on appointments.
