SE Asia eyeing Myanmar’s steel potential

May 28, 2012 | 07:38 AM |

Mills from Southeast Asia and beyond are eager to tap the steel potential of the new hotspot in the region, Myanmar, sources at the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (Seaisi) conference in Bali said. “Myanmar certainly has a lot of potential. It is importing 99% of its steel consumption. As it is opening up now, it represents a very large potential market for us,” a mill official in Malaysia said. “Everybody is talking about Myanmar now. People say Myanmar can be the next Vietnam with its ongoing [construction boom],” a mill official in Vietnam said. “Other companies are studying about the market potential of Myanmar. Of course, we also need to study,” a mill official in Singapore said. The talk of Myanmar’s steel potential is not mere hype, as a local steel trading company in Myanmar will testify. “Two to three years ago, our company was importing 3,000 tonnes of steel per month. But today, we are importing 300,000 tpy,” an official at the company said. “I have....