NEED FOR PROTECTION
ArcelorMittal grim on steel sector’s future
ArcelorMittal SA CEO Wim De Klerk says if the country’s biggest steel maker does not get safeguard protection from the government — in addition to 10% basic tariff protection — from a flood of mainly cheaper Chinese imported steel, the South African steel industry is likely to become extinct. He also says the company is set to make a "huge" loss in the six months to December. This comes after the South African unit of the Indian-backed Arcelor group — the world’s biggest steel producer — made a net loss of R8.6bn to December 2015. ArcelorMittal SA produces 75% of the country’s steel. De Klerk’s comments come as the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has dropped plans to build a $5bn steel mill in the country, with Chinese partners, once touted to be Hebei Iron & Steel Group. "They [the IDC] have confirmed it is off," he says. De Klerk also confirms that ArcelorMittal SA is bidding to reopen the structural steel mill of the defunct Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium ...
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