Steel market likely to recover during year-end
VOV.VN - With the Government’s efforts to accelerate the disbursement of public investment, credit packages for social housing projects, and positive signs for the Vietnamese economy, the steel market is likely to rebound ahead in the third and fourth quarters of the year, according to industry insiders.
Doan Danh Tuan, vice chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, said that although 2023 represents a challenging year for the industrial sector, the Vietnamese economy is anticipated to have more potential for development compared to other countries around the world.
Economists pointed out that Vietnamese GDP growth is expected to reach about 6.5%, while global economic growth is forecast to be at only about 1.5%, with that of Southeast Asian countries at about 5%.
Furthermore, the National Assembly has also approved an economic recovery support package worth VND350,000 billion for the 2022 to 2023 period, of which some VND113,840 billion is to be spent on infrastructure development, focusing on key projects such as the North-South expressway, Long Thanh airport, and large logistics ports.
Most notably, the Government approved a credit package of VND120,000 billion in February as it seeks to develop social housing projects.
These factors are projected to push up the steel consumption demand ahead in the third and fourth quarters of the year.
A representative of the Vietnam Steel Association noted that that the country’s steel consumption demand in the long term will continue to grow from 240 kg per capita at present to 290 kg per capita ahead in 2030.
Tran Dinh Long, chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnamese steel giant Hoa Phat Group, emphasised that despite the most challenging period for the steel industry has probably passed, with the sector’s future prospects mainly dependent on the market demand.
March alone saw Hoa Phat Group produce 440,000 tonnes of crude steel, up 6% compared to February. Indeed, the sales volume of billet, construction steel, hot rolled coil (HRC) reached 500,000 tonnes, up 5% compared to February.
Moreover, Hoa Phat has supplied 282,000 tonnes of high-quality construction steel and HRC to domestic and foreign markets, equivalent to that of February.
However, the figure marked a decline of 45% against the same period from last year due to low demand in the domestic and export markets. This fall can be attributed to the fact that the real estate market has not shown any signs of recovery.
