Hebei Jingye Group Co. Ltd. is confident it will win approval for its bid to acquire British Steel Corp. Ltd., as it continues to make progress in completing the transaction, BBC News reported Dec. 15.

The Chinese firm's statement came after The Telegraph, quoting Whitehall sources, reported that the bid is threatened with collapse and that talks with other potential suitors have been opened. Further, a report by The Times of London reported that capital controls being imposed by China on Jingye could thwart a final deal.

In early November, Jingye agreed to acquire the insolvent British Steel for about £50 million. The move saved about 4,000 jobs, primarily at the Scunthorpe plant in England.

Earlier this month, sources said that British Steel's Hayange mill in France will be sold separately from the rest of the company, despite the deal with Jingye. Further, advertisements that appeared in London and France newspapers were confirmed by the sources to be related to the facility. Jingye executives, meanwhile, were said to have been "furious" at the French move.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph's report also said that, should the talks with Jingye break down, the U.K. government hopes to persuade Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty House Ltd. to step in and save British Steel.