and Steel as it was originally called, benefitted from acquiring the engineers and managers, access to technology, and receiving government contracts. Initially, the firm limited its exports to just 10% of steel production, hoping to fulfill domestic demand. Baoshan Iron and Steel also benefitted from the Chinese economic expansion which consumed all the steel available. However, with the continuing liberalization of the Chinese economy, Baoshan found itself in competition with new rivals, both foreign and domestic. By the late 1990s, the company removed its cap on steel exports; it scored notable success in South Korea. Although hurt by the Asian financial crisis, Baoshan pushed through with a merger of other money losing state owned enterprises, though it had managed to remain profitable itself. Baosteel Group On November 17, 1998, the former Baoshan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation absorbed the Shanghai Metallurgical Holding Group Corporation (上海冶金控股集团公司) and the "Shanghai Meishan Group" (上海梅山集团公司) to form Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation. The new conglomerate was the largest steel producer in the country with annual steel production of nearly 20 million tons. Since then, the strategy of Baosteel Group has been to expand production capacity in iron and steel, achieve vertical integration along the value chain, and acquire related industries. In 1997, a subsidiary of Shanghai Metallurgical Holding, the former Shanghai No.3 Iron and Steel Plant, Shanghai Pudong Iron and Steel, formed a joint venture with ThyssenKrupp of Germany, as Shanghai Krupp Stainless. It followed the parent company to become a subsidiary of Baosteel Group in 1998. In 2000, a subsidiary Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. was formed to list a portion of the group on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, while Shanghai No.1st, 2, 3 and 5 Iron and Steel Plants of the group were remaining unlisted. In 2004, the listed subsidiary acquired Meishan Iron and Steel from Baosteel Group (via Shanghai Meishan Group). In 2007 Baosteel Group acquired the majority stake of Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron and Steel Group, which was the parent company of Ba Yi Iron and Steel [Company Limited by Shares]. In 2008 Baosteel Group expended in Southern China, which planned to build a new facility in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, which formally started by its subsidiary Baoshan Iron & Steel in 2012, by acquiring 71.8032% stake of Zhanjiang Iron and Steel for CNY4.976 billion from State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guangzhou City. In 2011, Baosteel Group acquired 51% stake