KUALA LUMPUR: Two steel associations are objecting to the proposed Wenan steel manufacturing project in Bintulu, Sarawak, saying it will further increase the oversupply that is afflicting the industry. “If allowed to materialise, the local steel industry expects the proposed 10 million tonnes per annum steel project to further exacerbate the overcapacity in the country,” said the Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation (Misif) and the Malaysia Steel Association (MSA). Misif and the MSA, in a statement yesterday, said Malaysia’s total steel consumption in 2018 was 9.77 million tonnes. In contrast, the total installed capacity in Malaysia was 24.64 million tonnes — of which 12.64 million tonnes were for long steel products and 12 million tonnes were for flat steel products. But manufacturing licences for the same products being produced by existing local steel mills should not be approved, they added.

Source: The Edge Markets February 05, 2020 01:52 UTC