Jingye, UK govt in talks on British Steel standoff - report

(Sharecast News) - British Steel's Chinese owner has reportedly held fresh talks with government officials in an attempt to break the impasse over ministers' determination not to compensate it for seizing control of the company. Executives from Jingye Group met senior civil servants from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) late last week to discuss ways to resolve the standoff, Sky News reported citing unnamed sources.

The Chinese firm wants hundreds of millions of pounds for taking control of British Steel in April - a move triggered by Jingye's preparations to permanently closure its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, which would have cost thousands of jobs and ended Britain's centuries-old ability to produce virgin steel.

Jingye had been in talks for months to seek £1bn in state aid to facilitate the Scunthorpe plant's transition to greener steelmaking, but was offered just half that sum by ministers. It has reportedly hired City law firm Linklaters to explore the recovery of the money it invested in the Scunthorpe-based company before the government seized control.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com