From Philippine Star:
Not so hidden agenda: Lost opportunity
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes

Global steel organizations such as the International Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Business Briefing predicted an upward movement in steel prices for the next five years with China as one of the four countries to push the growth.

TKC Steel, the only public listed steel manufacturer in the country is set to take advantage from the demand as it expands its operations in China through its subsidiary Zhang Zhou Stronghold Steel Works Co. Ltd. (ZZs).

This early, TKC has benefited from the increasing demand in China bagging $3 million worth of steel supply contracts and another $7 million in the pipeline.

Expect more contracts for ZZs as it doubles its production capacity of steel pipes from 40,000 MT a year to 80,000 MT by the first quarter of 2008.

Furthermore, ZZs plant, located in southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, is one of the few major steel pipe producers strategically located in a Special Economic Zone that will be able to easily supply the larger demand within its area.

In the local scene, the country is set to have its own steel craze from the current property boom cycle, which is expected to last until the 2012. Property development and infrastructure are the two heaviest consumers of steel, 56 percent of which is imported semi-finished steel products.

This provides a huge growth potential for TKC Steel as it introduces the country's first blast furnace project that, if I may say, is at synch with the Arroyo administration's economic development program. TKC Steel has the largest installed steel billet production capacity in the country at 300,000 MT. The blast furnace facility will double the capacity to 600,000 MT by end 2008 and address the large gap between supply and demand of steel billets in the Philippines with hi-grade steel products.

As steel consumption increases, prices are expected to rise as well by law of supply and demand. Steel prices have steadily been increasing since October 2005, where demand for steel picked-up and never looked back.