Source: Steelweek
Tan Ah
Yong, the new Secretary General of the South East Asia Iron and Steel
Institute, discusses the changes to trade and investment expected in the
region, and plans for cooperation between its six member countries.
SW: How do
you view the South East Asian iron and steel industry in the context of the
major projects being developed in China
and India, and the mergers
and acquisition in other regions such as Europe?
TAY: Mega
mills in China and India cater to much larger markets while mergers
and acquisitions in Europe and elsewhere are a
natural evolution. In contrast, the South East Asian iron and steel industry is
limited in its size for it is catering to the regional niche markets. Within
this context, I see the prospects of some regional players growing to a size of
3-5mt/y capacity per mill. They will be able to cater to the regional demand
that is forecast to maintain healthy growth trends within each SEAISI member
countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam.
A number
of SEAISI member countries are also endowed with natural resources, such as
natural gas, which would be good for developing Direct Reduced Iron (DRI)
projects as the option of switching to blast furnace is currently not supported
by proven regional resources [namely metallurgical grade coal or iron ore].
SW: What
role will SEAISI play with a number of trade agreements taking shape: the Asean
Free Trade Agreement, the growing numbers of FTAs being signed by Asean as a unified
group as well as bilateral FTAs among and between its member countries and
other markets?
TAY: First of all, I need to point out that SEAISI is a
technical institute and as a rule it does not get itself involved directly in
the deliberation of trade issues among its member countries. In the Asean
context, the Asean Iron & Steel Industry Federation is more directly
involved in such issues. Having said that, I also need to mention that the
Institute is, nevertheless, conscious of the possible impact of the various
multilateral and bilateral FTAs on its member companies.
Through
the various technical programmes undertaken by the Institute, the members are
exposed to the latest technological developments affecting the industry. It is
hoped that these will help them to improve their efficiency and competitiveness
and thereby enable them to be in a better position to face the challenges and
also take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the changing global
trade environment.
SW: What
experiences can you draw on from your previous post to address the issues
facing SEAISI members, such as barriers to free trade?
TAY: Having worked in the Malaysian Industrial
Development Authority (MIDA) for the past three decades and to a position of
deputy director general, I plan to help SEAISI members progress in the
competitive and borderless trading environment. On many occasions while in MIDA
I handled industry and tariff related issues affecting the iron and steel
industry in Malaysia.
I was also involved in different capacities in the promotion of investment in
the manufacturing and manufacturing-related service sectors in Malaysia.
Naturally, I have the advantage of looking afresh at SEAISI and its growing
regional role.
SW: Will
there be a major change in SEAISI’s long-term goals?
TAY: The South East Asian iron and steel industry is in
a healthy trade environment with a good level of earnings which would help the
industry progress further. The team at SEAISI will lend full support to members
to further improve the qualities of their products and services to the rapidly
expanding markets.
SW: SEAISI
will end the secondment of officers from all supporting member countries (Australia, Japan,
South Korea and Taiwan) from
August this year. Will this impact the operations of this institute?
TAY:The
members from the supporting countries of Australia,
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have been very supportive of
SEAISI and its members, both financially and technologically. Though the
secondment of officers will cease from August this year, they will still
continue to provide the necessary technical support through participation in
conferences, seminars and workshops organised by the Institute. They will also
maintain the ongoing training programme for the South East Asian member
companies.
SEAISI has
been generating its own revenue to support its operations in the past and we
will continue to do so through our ongoing programmes which include seminars,
forums, conferences and publication of journals, annual reports and
directories. We will also be working on compiling quarterly data on production,
apparent consumption, export and imports as well as other trade movements.
