Steel distributors are normally given a spot price for steel products every three to four days, but they now receive daily updates due to the volatility in the domestic market. One of these distributors said: “Steel prices can change a couple of times within one day. The new price list is often higher than the previous one.” Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) Chairman Ho Nghia Dung explained that the upward trend in the domestic steel price was in line with rising prices in the global steel market. The Ministry of Industry and Trade decided on March 7 to apply temporary tariff increases on steel imports, with a 23.3 percent duty imposed on steel billet and 14.2 percent on steel bars. Local distributors tend to increase their inventory when domestic price increases are forecast, Dung added. The VSA also attributed the price jump to a rising demand for construction steel. The group’s statistics show that for the first two months of 2016, the volume of construction steel sold skyrocketed 56.5 percent year on year. “This is the construction season, so demand will certainly grow in the next two months,” the VSA said. The chairman of Pomina Steel Joint Stock Company, one of Vietnam’s top 10 steel producers, said that his company had made plans to produce 80,000 tonnes of steel each month. However, they turned out 100,000 tonnes but were still unable to meet demand. Two out of their three steel plants even exhausted their steel stockpiles. A steel retailer in Ho Chi Minh City told VnExpress he made adjustments for his business when he saw the market for steel would remain robust. “From early of 2016, steel prices have bounced back. The ministry also imposed heavy duties on steel billet and steel bars. I think the price will keep going up, so I purchased in large quantities.” The VSA sent a letter to domestic steel producers on March 16 with their recommendation that steel billet and steel bars should be …
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Many expectations for Vietnamese steel industry
Impressive profits According to the business result of Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNSteel), the company exceeded its plan last year, with some main targets even posting slight growth compared to the previous year. Specifically, the company achieved a net revenue of more than VND78.17 trillion last year. Of which, the parent company got VND2.48 trillion, equal to 163.8 percent of the plan for 2020. Pre-tax profit reached VND891 billion. Total consolidated revenue hit VND30 trillion, achieving 100 percent of the plan, and pre-tax consolidated profit touched VND260 billion. This year, the company plans to produce more than 2.5 million tons of steel billets, up 6.5 percent compared to last year. Similarly, Hoa Phat Group is the leading enterprise in the construction steel segment, increasing its market share from 26.2 percent in 2019 to 32.5 percent in 2020. In the steel pipe segment, the two largest enterprises - Hoa Phat and Hoa Sen - raised their market shares from 31.5 percent to 31.7 percent and from 15.3 percent to 16.8 percent, respectively. As for the galvanized steel sheet market, Hoa Sen continued to confirm its dominance by increasing its market share from 29.5 percent to 33.4 percent. Although the business results for the whole year have not been announced, according to the business results in the first three quarters of last year, the profit of Hoa Phat Group jumped by 56 percent over the same period, exceeding VND8.84 trillion. Hoa Sen Group also reported its after-tax profit at VND1.15 trillion, three times higher than that in the same period in 2019, much higher than the plan set for last year. Meanwhile, figures of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) also show the same situation as the business community. Last year, steel enterprises sold a total of 23.45 million tons of steel of all kinds, an increase of 1.4 percent compared to 2019. Construction steel slid by 1.2 percent but still accounted for the largest proportion of 44.6 percent in total …
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