Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) will be cooperating with the country’s Ministry of Finance to support consolidation of the domestic iron and steel industry, according to an official announcement during the Trade Forum on the Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry held this week. The government will help with tax incentives and exemptions for the new large long steel producer, which should be created this year by the merger of two producers.
Two leading longs steel producers in Malaysia, Ann Joo Resources Berhad (AJR) and Southern Steel Berhad (SSB), have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a strategic alliance to become one of the biggest producers in Southeast Asia. “We are positive on the proposal as synergy could potentially be created through the joint venture. Based on the data from Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation (MISIF), the combined capacity for the crude steel production of the JV shall be about 2.3 million metric tons,” Ann Joo Resources had said in a statement in early October.
