Three Midwest directors resign

Wednesday, 10 September, 2008 - 17:31

Three Midwest Corporation directors have today resigned from the company as two new directors from majority shareholder Sinosteel are appointed.

 

Below is the full announcement:

 

The Directors of Midwest Corporation Limited (ASX: MIS) (Midwest) are pleased to announce the appointment of 2 new Directors to the Board of the Company with effect from 10 September 2008. The new Directors are:

1. Mr. Hong JIANG

Mr. Jiang is the Vice President of Sinosteel Corporation. He is a senior engineer, and has a strong track record in various executive roles with Sinosteel Corporation.Mr. Jiang graduated from Northeast University (USA) with a Bachelor's degree in Management Engineering in 1984, and obtained his Master's degree in
Business Administration from Australian National University in 2006.

Mr. Jiang has held many positions in Sinosteel Corporation, including Vice Manager of the Overall Planning Department, Manager of the Investment Department, Director and General Manager of the Investment Management
Division, Vice Manager of China International Iron and Steel Investment Corporation (a subsidiary of Sinosteel Corporation) and General Manager of Sinosteel Assets Management Limited Liability Company. Prior to joining Sinosteel Corporation, Mr. Jiang was the Vice Director for the Planning Division in the People's Republic of China's Metallurgy Import and Export Corporation.

Mr. Jiang will be the Deputy Chairman of Midwest Corporation.

2. Mr. Yuan WANG

Mr. Wang is the General Manager of the Accounting and Finance Department of Sinosteel Corporation. He is a senior accountant with extensive experience in financial affairs. His previous positions with Sinosteel Corporation include Manager of Financing Division of Accounting and Finance Department, and Vice General Manager and General Manager of Accounting and Finance Department.

Mr. Wang graduated from Hebei University (China) with a Bachelor's degree in accounting in 1983, and achieved a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of International Business and Economics (China) in 2006.

Mr Wang will be a Non-Executive Director of Midwest Corporation.

Retirements of Dato David LAW; Mr. Stephen DE BELLE and Datuk Roger TAN

Also effective 10 September 2008 are the retirements of Dato David (Tien Seng) Law, Mr. Stephen de Belle and Mr. Roger (Kim Hock) Tan.

Dato Law has been a substantial investor in Midwest since its recapitalisation in 2003 and Director since 2005. He has most recently been Deputy Chairman of the Company.

Mr. de Belle has been involved with Midwest for more than 5 years, in the capacity of both Managing Director and Director, and Mr. Tan has been a Board member for 4 years.

Mr. Tan has been Chairman of the Company's Remuneration Committee and its Audit Committee, and Dato Law and Mr. de Belle have served on both committees.

All of these gentlemen have overseen the important early development stages of the Company and in particular the growth in value of the Company which is reflected in the substantial capital appreciation enjoyed by many Midwest shareholders.

The Board of Directors thanks Dato Law, Mr. Tan and Mr. de Belle for their efforts during their tenure.

"David Law, Stephen de Belle and Roger Tan have made important contributions to the strategic development and growth of Midwest Corporation to be arguably the leading iron ore exploration & mining enterprise in West Australia's Mid-west region, and we thank them for the considerable time and expertise they have added to the Company's Board," Chairman Jesse Taylor said, "We now welcome the experience and expertise of Mr. Jiang and Mr. Wang, as representatives of Sinosteel, which now owns 60.54% of the Company."

"Sinosteel, using its industry and proven development expertise, has indicated that it is strongly committed to continue Midwest's progress, particularly the development of the Company's projects in the present economic climate of sustained demand from key iron ore markets. Sinosteel's intention is to provide benefits to all Midwest stakeholders in the long term and it views the newly constituted Board as a significant step in this process," Mr. Taylor said.

The Company is also pleased to announce that Mr. Tony (SiJun) Cheng and Mr. Michael (Hongbin) Wu, who were recently appointed as Directors, have been appointed to the Company's Executive Committee.