[Central Bank to Conduct 500 Billion Yuan in Outright Reverse Repo Operations Today] The People's Bank of China announced that it would conduct 500 billion yuan in six-month (182-day) outright reverse repo operations today (March 16) through fixed-quantity, interest-rate tendering and multiple-price bidding. As 600 billion yuan of six-month outright reverse repo operations mature in March, this operation meant the central bank rolled over 100 billion yuan less in six-month outright reverse repo operations for the month.

SMM Nickel News, March 16: Macro and Market News: (1) The financial statistics report for February released by the central bank showed that at month-end February, broad money (M2) balance stood at 349.22 trillion yuan, up 9% YoY; cumulative aggregate social financing for the first two months was 9.6 trillion yuan, 316.2 billion yuan more than the same period last year; new RMB loans in the first two months increased by 5.61 trillion yuan; the balance of domestic and foreign currency deposits was 345.72 trillion yuan, up 8.8% YoY; and the month-end RMB deposit balance was 337.94 trillion yuan, up 8.7% YoY. (2) The central bank said in its tender announcement for open-market outright reverse repo operations that on March 16, 2026, the People's Bank of China will conduct 500 billion yuan of outright reverse repo operations through a fixed-quantity, interest-rate bidding, and multiple-price allocation method, with a tenor of six months (182 days). Spot Market: On March 16, the SMM #1 refined nickel price fell by 2,650 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums: Jinchuan #1 refined nickel averaged 6,700 yuan/mt, up 50 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; China mainstream branded electrodeposited nickel was at -300-400 yuan/mt. Futures Market: The most-traded SHFE nickel contract (2605) fell sharply intraday and closed the morning session at 135,990 yuan/mt, down 1.83%. Tensions in the Middle East pushed up oil prices, intensifying inflation concerns. The market expects the US Fed may slow the pace of interest rate cuts, while the US dollar continued to strengthen, creating clear pressure on nickel prices. Despite significant macro pressure, the industry-level support logic has not changed, and market concerns over tightening supply of nickel intermediate products remain. Short term, the most-traded SHFE nickel contract is expected to move sideways in the 135,000-145,000 yuan/mt range.

The 2026 SMM (3rd) Global Renewable Metal Industry Chain Summit & Battery Recycling Forum will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from May 11–12, 2026. The summit aims to bring together leading global enterprises, research institutions, industry experts, and policymakers in the fields of renewable metals and battery recycling.

SMM March 11 News: According to SMM, the Northwest Lead and Zinc Smelter of Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co., Ltd. has initiated a public tender for the sale of approximately 100 tons of its crude cadmium. Specifically, according to official sources, the bidding base price is set at the SMM average price minus 500 RMB/ton, and the highest bidder will win the tender. This project requires three registered participants to proceed with the bidding. The registration deadline is 5:00 PM on March 16, 2026, and the bidding is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM on March 17, 2026.

SMM March 11 News: According to official sources from Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co., Ltd., the company plans to sell 33 tons of crude selenium. The pricing mechanism will be based on bidding for the premium/discount. The minimum premium is set at 10,500 RMB/ton. This project requires three registered participants to proceed with the bidding. The registration deadline is 5:00 PM on March 16, 2026, and the bidding is scheduled to start at 3:00 PM on March 17, 2026. Given the recent positive trading conditions for crude selenium tenders, with relatively high transaction prices, market insiders anticipate that the outcome of this premium bidding will be worth watching.

SMM March 11 News: According to official sources from Nandan County Southern Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd., the company will publicly tender for 147 tons of bismuth ingots starting today. Specifications: 99.99%; Implementation standard: GB/T915-2010. The deadline for this quotation is: 15:00 on March 12, 2026. This competitive bidding sales will not have a reserve price.

Recently, Dr. Du from US Plug Power, a globally leading provider of hydrogen energy solutions, and his delegation visited Suzhou Xinsichuang Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. for exchanges. The two sides held in-depth discussions on hydrogen technology R&D, industry ecosystem development, and global market positioning, laying a foundation for subsequent cross-border collaborative cooperation. As a pioneer in the hydrogen fuel cell industry, Plug Power has cultivated the hydrogen energy sector for many years and is committed to building an entire industry chain ecosystem covering green hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and terminal power generation. Its business is extensively deployed across diverse scenarios such as material handling, stationary power supply, and on-road EVs, making it a benchmark enterprise in the development of the global green hydrogen industry. During the field trip, Dr. Du and his delegation visited Xinsichuang’s production workshop and gained a detailed understanding of the company’s hydrogen equipment manufacturing capabilities and latest progress in technology R&D. At present, Xinsichuang is accelerating its transformation from a hydrogen equipment manufacturer into a **comprehensive green electricity and green fuels service provider**. Leveraging its core technological advantages in hydrogen production equipment, the company is making every effort to connect the entire chain of the hydrogen industry from the manufacturing end to the supply end and build differentiated competitive advantages. During the discussion session, General Manager Zeng of Xinsichuang highlighted the company’s project deployment and implementation in Hainan, Indonesia, the Middle East, and other regions, as well as the progress of exporting its hydrogen equipment technologies to Japan, Singapore, Europe, and other countries and regions. Dr. Du expressed strong interest in Xinsichuang’s strategic transformation direction and pace of global expansion. The two sides conducted thorough exchanges on topics including collaborative technological innovation and jointly building a global hydrogen energy ecosystem, and reached multiple cooperation consensuses. As the global energy transition continues to accelerate, the hydrogen energy industry has moved from the technology validation stage into a window period for large-scale application. Xinsichuang stated that in the future, it will continue to uphold an open and cooperative philosophy, deepen exchanges and collaboration with leading global hydrogen energy enterprises, steadily advance project implementation in China and overseas, bring high-quality green energy solutions to broader markets, and contribute to the high-quality development of the global hydrogen energy industry.

1. Tender Conditions The tender project March Titanium Metal Petroleum Coke No. 2 Public Tender (PGWZMYHGZHD260310272703) had the Bid Inviter as the Materials Division of Pangang Group Material Trading Co., Ltd. The funds for the tender project came from self-raised sources. The project had met the tender conditions, and a public tender was now being conducted. 2. Project Overview and Tender Scope 2.1 Project Name: March Titanium Metal Petroleum Coke No. 2 Public Tender 2.2 Alternative Procurement Method Upon Tender Failure: Negotiated procurement 2.3 For the tender content, scope, and scale of this project, please refer to the attachment "Material List Attachment.pdf" for details. 3. Bidder Qualification Requirements 3.1 Consortium bidding was not permitted for this tender. 3.2 This tender required bidders to meet the following qualification requirements: See the attachment for details (if necessary). 3.3 This tender required bidders to meet the following registered capital requirement: Manufacturer registered capital: 6 million yuan or above 3.4 This tender required bidders to meet the following performance requirements: When submitting bids, bidders were required to provide proof of performance for petroleum coke products from 2022.1.1 to the bid submission deadline (scanned copies of invoices; if no Pangang supply performance was uploaded, the bidder would be deemed a new supplier). 3.5 This tender required bidders to meet the following capability requirements, financial requirements, and other requirements: Financial requirement: registered capital ≥ 6 million yuan Capability requirement: provide valid enterprise qualification certificates, namely scanned copies of the original or duplicate business license; Other requirements: see the attachment for details (if necessary). 3.6 For projects that must be tendered in accordance with the law, bids submitted by dishonest persons subject to enforcement were invalid. 4. Acquisition of Tender Documents 4.1 Any interested bidder shall, from 08:45 on March 12, 2026 to 08:45 on April 1, 2026 (Beijing time, the same hereinafter), log in to the Angang Smart Tendering and Bidding Platform at http://bid.ansteel.cn to download the electronic tender documents. Click to View Tender Details:

SMM, March 11: According to official news from Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co., Ltd., Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co., Ltd. plans to sell 33 mt of crude selenium, with pricing based on bidding for premiums through auction. The floor premium is 10,500 yuan/mt. This project requires registration by three parties before the auction can proceed normally. The registration deadline is 17:00 on March 16, 2026. Bidding will begin at 15:00 on March 17, 2026. As recent market transaction results for crude selenium tenders have been relatively strong, with high transaction prices, market participants expect the premium auction results this time to be worth looking forward to.

SMM News on March 11: According to SMM, the Northwest Lead and Zinc Smelter of Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co., Ltd. launched a public tender sale for about 100 mt of crude cadmium under its operation. According to the official announcement, the bidding floor price was set at a discount of 500 yuan/mt to the average SMM price, and the highest bidder after the auction won the lot. This project required at least three registrants for the auction to proceed normally. The registration deadline was 17:00 on March 16, 2026, and bidding was scheduled to begin at 10:00 on March 17, 2026. Market participants said that, as cadmium prices had shown an upward trend recently, this tender was also well worth close attention. To a certain extent, it could reflect the strength of market demand and provide some reference as to whether cadmium prices could continue to rise steadily.