Review of Operations

South East Asian Operations

The global economic crisis has had a significant impact on most of the East Asian economies. Export dependent economies like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have fared far worse than the others in the region. However, many of the governments led by China, Australia and Singapore, have been quick to announce huge stimulus packages. These economies have been followed by the other economies in the region. The learnings from the 1997 crisis has also ensured that the South East Asian economies are now financially better positioned to weather the storm.

Over the last decade, the dependence of these economies on the Chinese economy has increased and hence a Chinese recovery will have a big impact on the region.

As most of the stimulus packages announced so far have a significant focus on infrastructure spending and construction which accounts for 65% of the steel consumption in the region, the steel industry is expected to benefit from the same.

The Company continues to invest to improve the competitiveness of its existing facilities, and to seek more opportunities to grow in the fast growth markets of the region. With a population of 550 million and a steel consumption of around 45 million tonnes, the South East Asian region continues to offer a lot of potential.