The first-half net profit of the member companies of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) soared to 12.6 billion yuan ($1.9 billion), up 400 percent from the same period last year, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing CISA President Ma Guoqiang.
The association's members account for 80 percent of the industry's capacity in China, the report said.
The profit surge reflects the government's measures in consolidating steel companies and cutting industrial overcapacity, according to the report.
The results, combined with the revival of global steel prices in the past six months, fueled hope for the recovery of the struggling global industry, said the report.
World steel demand will grow 0.4 percent to 149.4 million kilograms in 2017, according to a statement published on the website of the World Steel Association in April.
