Malaysia takes certain measures regarding steel industry

Malaysia takes certain measures regarding steel industry

According to recent industry news, Malaysian government has directed the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to take certain measures, including lifting import license requirement on steel billets and bars to help steel industry in the country, suffering from rising raw material prices. The new measures are valid for six months beginning from February 25, 2004. The new regulation will create an advantageous situation for importers in building and construction industry in Malaysia. Moreover, the government has agreed on reviewing ceiling prices of billets and steel bars via automatic pricing mechanism due to fluctuation in raw material prices worldwide. With the new mechanism, billet and steel bar prices will be adjusted according to the price of raw material. Meanwhile, many steel producers have also reportedly requested the government to allow import of steel bars and to reduce imports duty on steel products. The other measures considered to help steel industry in the country include granting import duty exemption and implementing control on exports of billets and steel bars for six months.