Southeast Asia is located in southeastern Asia, including the Indochina Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago. There are 11 countries in total: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. Among them, steel production capacity is mainly distributed in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore, also known as the six ASEAN countries. Countries in Southeast Asia started relatively late in their economies, and their economic foundations are generally weak, especially the development of the steel industry is lagging behind. In recent years, with the continuous deepening of economic globalization and the continuous adjustment of the division of labor in the global industrial chain, factors such as cheap human resources in Southeast Asia have attracted a large number of investments, accelerating the industrialization process in the region and driving the continuous growth of the steel industry.
In addition, iron ore in Southeast Asia is mainly distributed in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, which also facilitates local steel production.
- Current steel production capacity distribution
In 2022, the crude steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore) will be 77 million tons, of which the electric furnace steel production capacity will be 41 million tons, and the converter steel production capacity will be 36 million tons, accounting for 53% and 36 million tons respectively. 47%. Specifically, Vietnam’s crude steel production capacity is the largest, reaching 27 million tons, accounting for 35% of the six ASEAN countries, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia, with production capacity of 17.3 million and 17 million tons, accounting for 22.5% and 22%.
In 2022, the six ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore) will produce 52.99 million tons of crude steel, accounting for 2.8% of the global crude steel production of 1.9 billion tons. Vietnam ranked first with 20 million tons, accounting for 38%, down 3.02 million tons from 2021.
- Changes in steel production capacity in the future
In recent years, huge production capacity investment projects are pouring into the six ASEAN countries, mainly concentrated in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. According to Mysteel statistics, in the next 3-5 years, 15 new steel capacity projects in Southeast Asia are expected to be put into operation, involving a total capacity of 82.2 million tons, of which Malaysia will contribute the largest increase.
Based on this calculation, the crude steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries is expected to reach 90 million tons in 2023, an increase of 56 million tons over 2011, an increase of 164.7%. Among them, the production capacity of electric furnace steel is 48 million tons, and that of converter steel is 42 million tons, accounting for 53% and 47%, respectively. Specifically, Vietnam’s crude steel production capacity is the largest, reaching 28.8 million tons, accounting for 32% of the six ASEAN countries, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia, with production capacity of 19.8 million and 18.9 million tons, accounting for 22% and 21%.
It is estimated that the crude steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries will reach 140 million tons in 2026, of which the electric furnace steel production capacity will be 51 million tons, accounting for a further drop to 36%, while the converter steel production capacity will be 89 million tons, accounting for 64%.
- The changing trend of iron ore trade flow in the future
At present, the iron and steel industry of the six ASEAN countries is still highly dependent on the international raw material market. The main sources of imported iron ore include Brazil and Australia, and most of them flow to Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Transshipment hub.
In the next three years, the converter steel production capacity of the six ASEAN countries will increase by 47 million tons, accounting for a significant increase in the proportion of crude steel production capacity, an increase of about 17 percentage points, which also means that the corresponding demand for iron ore will be greatly increased. The flow of iron ore trade will shift to the six ASEAN countries.
