China's two major steel companies announced restructuring plans on Sunday, but no details were revealed.
In their separate statements, Wuhan Iron and Steel and the Shanghai-based Baosteel said they were planning for "strategic restructuring" and trading of their shares would be suspended starting on Monday.
The final restructuring plans, however, were yet to be confirmed and endorsed by supervisory bodies, the statements said.
Rumors about a possible merger between Baosteel Group and Wuhan Iron and Steel have been going on for almost a year, but have not been confirmed.
Baosteel is China's largest iron and steel company and the fifth in the world. Last year, its steel output totaled 36.11 million tonnes.
Wuhan Iron and Steel ranks the sixth in China and reported 26 million tonnes of steel output last year.
