Steel industry hopes for market revival to boost growth

Feb 8th at 10:58
08-02-2014 10:58:25+07:00

Steel industry hopes for market revival to boost growth

Viet Nam's steel industry might achieve 6 to 7 per cent growth this year if the stagnant market is revived, experts said.

 

This year, the Viet Nam Steel Corporation (VSA) has set a target of producing nearly 1.5 million tonnes of steel billets and 2.6 million tonnes of rolled steel, year-on-year increases of 24.5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

VSA's chairman Ho Nghia Dung said, "The economic growth must reach 5.8 to 6 per cent first, then the steel industry will be able to achieve 6 to 7 per cent growth."

Last year, the macro-economic policy aimed at cutting public investment which had trimmed the demand in real estate and construction. Weak consumption forced the steel companies to cut production.

According to VSA, 13 cast iron producers worked with 15 to 20 per cent full capacity only and 26 pig iron producers used up to 60 per cent of the full capacity. The total steel billets and rolled steel produced last year equaled 92.4 per cent and 95 per cent respectively of the planned target for the year.

In 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will also introduce measures to resolve the difficulties facing the sector. It will work with the Ministry of Finance to help enterprises access more capital to promote their production and business.

Nguyen Manh Quan, Head of the Department of Heavy Industry under MoIT, predicted that the steel industry will continue to face fierce competition this year, especially after Viet Nam joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Dung said that the most important element was the government would be formulating proper policies to warm up the steel market. That might boost the real estate and construction sectors which, in turn, will help boost steel consumption.

Other experts proposed that the policies need to help enterprises export more steel products and curb steel smuggling in order to set up a fair market for the local producers.

vietnamnews



NEWS SAME CATEGORY

Dong Thap aims to boost industrial production value

The southern province of Dong Thap is hoping to attain an industrial production value of VND16.5 trillion (US$775.5 million) this year.

Industrial production inches up

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in January rose 3 per cent from January last year but fell 6.2 per cent against December 2013, the General Statistics...

Da Nang-Kawasaki shipping route set to be opened

A shipping route connecting Da Nang and Kawasaki in Japan via Shanghai, China will launch next Tuesday, general director of Da Nang port Nguyen Thu told Viet Nam...

China attempts to control Vietnam’s mineral industries

Government agencies and experts have warned that Chinese enterprises buy mining licenses to serve their plan to control the Vietnamese mineral industries.

The lessons of EVN’s incompetence

Despite government assistance, many state-owned enterprises still operate ineffectively. In order to tap their potential, insightful analysis must be conducted, and...

Electricity industry seeks more investment capital

Capital demand for building infrastructure of the electricity industry is increasing, but the industry still has difficulty in gaining access to it, stated...

Nuclear plant to be delayed

Construction of Viet Nam's first nuclear power plant may not begin this year, as earlier scheduled, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan recently told the...

Positive year forecast for industrial production

The industry and trade sector of Viet Nam expects the index of industrial production (IIP) to grow to 6.3 per cent this year as the world economy recovers, helping...

Ground breaks at new titanium plant

Construction started on Vietnam’s second titanium complex last week, which is expected to lure more investors into Vietnam’s titanium processing industry.

Fecon wins contract for Nghi Son oil refinery

Fecon has won contract to become piling supplier to landmark Nghi Son complex


MOST READ


Back To Top