OREANDA-NEWS. March 18, 2010. Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces establishing its representative office in the People’s Republic of China, reported the press-centre of Mechel.

Registration procedure of Mechel OAO representative office in China was completed on March 5, 2010. Mr. Stepan Karapetyan is appointed the head of the representative office located at: Jingguang Center bldg 1 #3310A, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The office telephone number is: + 86 134 391 88 470.

The representative office will support Mechel’s business in China, cooperate on expansion of Mechel’s business in the country, work directly with Chinese partners, establish new business contacts and perform studies on the market dynamics.

Starting from 2007, Mechel performs successful sales of iron ore concentrate produced by its Korshunov Mining Plant to China and since 2009 coking coal concentrate produced by Yakutugol is supplied to Chinese consumers as well as ferroalloys. Currently volumes of these supplies are being gradually increased. In 2005 and 2008 between Mechel and China Coal Overseas Development Co. contracts were signed to purchase new technologies for coal excavation and equipment for Mechel’s Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO subsidiary. Moreover, Mechel signed Memorandum of Intent with Minmetals, one of China’s largest state industrial corporations. In accordance with the Memorandum of Intent the first contract to construct universal rail and structural steel mill at Mechel’s Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant OAO subsidiary has already been signed.

The new representative office is already the third one opened by Mechel in the Asia-Pacific region. Other representative offices of the company were opened in South Korea and Japan.