OREANDA-NEWS. June 09, 2011. General Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or "the Company") (NYSE: GSI), one of China's leading non-state-owned producers of steel products and aggregators of domestic steel companies, announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an increase of one million (1,000,000) shares of its common stock which may be purchased under the Company's share repurchase program (the "Program") launched in December 2010, bringing the total authorized shares of Company common stock available for purchase under the Program to two million (2,000,000), reported the press-centre of General Steel.

The newly authorized repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws.  General Steel plans to fund the increase of repurchases from its available cash balance. The newly authorized shares available for repurchase do not have an expiration date, and the timing of the repurchases and the exact number of shares of common stock to be purchased will be determined by the management of the Company, in their discretion, and will depend upon market conditions and other factors.

The Company also announced that it has completed the repurchase of the initial one million shares of its common stock authorized under the Program.

"Repurchasing shares is part of General Steel's continued commitment to enhancing shareholder return on equity. Given the continued progress of our business with expanded capacity and improved operational efficiency, we believe that our stock is undervalued and represents a compelling buying opportunity for both our Company and our shareholders," said General Steel's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry Yu. "We have made meaningful operational and financial improvements, with four consecutive quarters of margin improvement and two consecutive quarters of profitability, along with significant top-line growth. In addition, our recent strategic alliance with the Shaanxi Coal and Shaanxi Steel has positioned the Company well for sustainable, profitable growth through capacity expansion, efficiency improvements and beneficial raw material purchasing terms. We have a clear and achievable growth strategy for 2011 that we have effectively carried out to date. Based on our accomplishments thus far and our outlook for the remainder of 2011, we believe that the repurchase of our shares represents a prudent investment and effective use of capital."

For the first quarter of 2011, General Steel increased its revenue by 57% year-over-year to USD 710.5 million. Net income attributable to the Company for the first quarter of 2011 was USD 2.6 million, or USD 0.05 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of USD (5.5) million, or USD (0.11) per diluted share in the first quarter of 2010.

About General Steel Holdings, Inc.
General Steel Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: GSI), headquartered in Beijing, China, operates a diverse portfolio of Chinese steel companies. With 7 million metric tons of crude steel production capacity, its companies serve various industries and produce a variety of steel products including rebar, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. General Steel Holdings, Inc. has steel operations in Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin municipality. For more information, please visit www.gshi-steel.com.

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