Baosteelexpectsautosteeldemandtostayrobust¡£
WerecentlymetBaosteel¡¯smanagementtogetfurtherinsightintothesteelindustry.ManagementsaidBaosteelhasadominantpositioninthemedium-tohigh-endautoplatemarketwithadomesticvolumeshareof50%.BaosteelestimatesautosteeldemandCAGRof7.17%over2011-20andautosalesvolumeCAGRof10%over2011-15.Itbelievestheincreasedcompetitionmayputmarginsandpricesunderpressure,butincreasingsalesvolumewillimproveoverallprofitabilityoftheGroup.Steelwillremainthedominantmaterialforautomotiveforthenext10years.AutomotiveorderswereverystrongforBaosteelin1Q14,allowingittoincreasepricesamidanenvironmentofdeclininggeneralsteelprices.
Expansionstrategy¡£
BaosteelsaiditskeyfocusforthenexttwoyearswillbetheZhanjiangproject,whichisduetostartoperationsin2H15.TotalinvestmentisRMB41.5b(RMB5,000/tsteel).Totalsteelcapacityis8mt,4mt-5mtofwhichisautosteelplate.ThecompanybelievesGuangdongwillseeaccelerationinautoproductioncapacityexpansionthroughoverseasautoJVs.Baosteelistargetingtoexportonly10%ofitsproductionvolume.Forinternationalexpansion,Baosteelsaiditwouldlfocusonexpandingitsservicecentresinthemediumtermandthatitplanstoset-updownstream(notupstream)capacitylocallyinthelongtermandthatitwouldworkincooperationwiththelocalplayerstoavoidpricewars.
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