The Southeast Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) conference and exhibition, being held in Singapore between May 18-21, has opened with a few rather optimistic as well as challenging points from the major industry participants.
Mr. Wee Jin Yeoh, Secretary General of the Southeast Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI), has highlighted the strong recovery of steel demand across ASEAN that happened in 2024 – almost 8 percent – and the continuation of the trend in 2026. According to SEAISI data, steel demand in the ASEAN-6 countries surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2024. Total apparent steel consumption in the region reached more than 81 million mt in 2024 and is forecast to reach 87.9 million mt in 2026 (up by 2.6 percent compared to 2025 and 8.2 percent compared to 2024). Vietnam was the strongest growth market in 2024, recording annual growth above 21 percent. As for 2025, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines have maintained steady demand after previous increases, while Thailand managed to increase consumption by 2 million mt to 18 million mt. The further rise in 2026 will mainly come from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Mr. Yeoh emphasized that ASEAN is becoming an increasingly important steel-producing region globally. ASEAN’s crude steel production now stands at approximately 51 million mt; the concern raised during the presentation was still the very high level of steel imports. “Import penetration in ASEAN is 60 percent at least, putting pressure on local producers. Whatever we produce [in ASEAN] is not enough to compete here in the local market, so we have to export,” Mr. Yeoh said.
Steel imports into the ASEAN-6 countries climbed by 5 million mt or 10.4 percent in 2024, and even though the volumes estimated for 2025 have reduced to 50 million mt, this number is still too big and this was mainly a result of lower shipments to Vietnam (from 17 million mt to 14 million mt) after it introduced stricter measures for HRC imports, mainly from China.
At the same time, regional steel export volumes remain high – 22 million mt in 2025, just 1 million mt lower than the record seen in 2024. And again, the reason is clear – Vietnam was able to consume more volumes locally, so it cut exports, while other ASEAN countries had to keep shipments abroad stable or even increase them, as Indonesia did, with its exports hiking to 8 million mt, adding 2 million mt, which was connected with new HRC capacities in the country, among other factors.
Throughout the presentation, Mr. Yeoh underlined the need for ASEAN steelmakers to balance growth opportunities with sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience, especially in the current turbulent times. “The Iran war has sparked a global energy crisis and the ASEAN market is dependent on Middle Eastern supply. We have reserves for now, but they will finish and we will have more challenges,” he said, adding that the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia all have strategic oil reserves for 40 days or less. Meanwhile, countries that do not have their own production, like the Philippines, will have to look for new ways to overcome the current crisis. Though ASEAN imported 3.9 million mt of iron and steel products from the Middle East (mainly Iran) in 2025, the impact on the region is much bigger from the energy side mentioned above rather than from the direct loss of these volumes, out of which steel imports were mostly in the form of semis and amounted to 1.9 million mt in 2025, which can be sourced globally.
In terms of additional new capacities in the ASEAN region, Mr. Yeoh highlighted the slowdown of new BF/BOF investments as climate change policies unfolded, but this excludes Vietnam, which is in the last stages of implementing already confirmed projects (like Hoa Phat’s 6 million mt project). He also pointed out that consolidation in the region is also underway through closures and M&A.