A small chance to save a national asset, SA’s steel industry
Due to a disconnect between visions of investment and the reality, the sector teeters on the brink of catastrophe
With the president’s third investment conference concluded, SA’s role as the gateway to Africa is being emphasised as part of a concerted effort to restart the economy after the double whammy of Covid-19 on top of years of lacklustre growth. Yet the SA steel industry, which is crucial to fulfilling our undoubted economic potential, is teetering on the brink of catastrophe. It can still be saved, but the clock is ticking.
Specifically, we are on the brink of losing an important part of the steel value chain responsible for beneficiating the hot-rolled coil product produced by primary producer Arcelor Mittal SA. Not, one might have thought, a development that would support efforts to retain existing foreign direct investment and attract new investors...
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