The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) is expecting a large number of steelmaking projects dedicated to both flat and long steel production in the next decade, covering not only regional demand but also excess volumes that may be exported, according the South East Asia Iron and Steel institute (SEAISI).
The Asean regional intergovernmental organization comprises the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos and promotes cooperation on matters including economy, politics and security. Out of the total 56 million tonnes of upcoming steelmaking capacities in the next decade, almost 80% draw investments from Chinese steel mills, which started to curb domestic production in 2016 amid environment protection restrictions, Yeoh Wee Jin, secretary general designate of SEAISI, said at the 81th meeting of the International Rebar Exporters & Producers Association (Irepas) in Dusseldorf on September 22-24. "The more capacities are reduced in China, the more capacities appear in Asean," he said. Capacity cuts in China China set a target to cut around 150 million tonnes of steelmaking capacity by 2020, and this was achieved by the end of 2018. Steelmaking restrictions planned for China's northern region - where the concentration of mills are the highest in...