HANOI: Việt Nam’s steel industry will be able to produce enough hot-rolled steel in 2018 to meet local demand. Before, the nation had to import millions of tonnes of hot-rolled steel products every year. The domestic steel market has grown in production and consumption over the past few years, especially the period 2016-17. Most steel enterprises have achieved high profits from steel production and business in 2017. In 2017, the steel industry reached a year-on-year increase of 23 per cent in production and 20 per cent in consumption while exports of steel reached 4.7 million tonnes, a surge of 28 per cent against 2016. The strong growth was due to high demand for steel as the domestic economy developed, including construction of infrastructure, bridges, harbors, airports, urban areas and housing. The steel industry will continue the development because many projects have to be completed and put into operation this year. Meanwhile, the Government will enhance disbursement for many projects with public investment to finish the projects, leading to higher demand for steel products. However, to obtain those advantages, the local steel producers must improve competitiveness of their products by investing in reform of production technology, a skilled workforce and use of modern management methods. Currently, Việt Nam has not planned to close the induction furnace because the capacity of the electric furnace has not met the local demand so the induction furnace has still had a positive contribution. However, investors should pay attention to the long-term vision to not put large investment in developing induction furnaces because it may be limited in the future due to its negative effects on the environment, then the investor will suffer great damage. – VNS
