The sale process for the ailing Whyalla steelworks has drawn interest from 33 parties, says South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas, with 60 per cent of those coming from offshore.

He declined to name them, but said some were global steelmakers well known in the industry. South Korea’s POSCO, India’s JSW conglomerate and Japan’s Nippon Steel, have been named by industry analysts as potential buyers, along with Australia’s BlueScope.