VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese steel manufacturers are importing more and more scrap steel for domestic production, as this is the easiest and most profitable way to make steel.

While the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) wants to resume exploitation of Thach Khe, the largest iron mine in South East Asia, after eight years of interruption, Ha Tinh provincial authorities are reluctant to do so.

When Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh denied there were special group interests in licensing the Ca Na steel complex project, the ministry’s website showed information that indicated support for large-scale steel projects.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is expected to be seriously affected if US policy restricts imports from China to protect domestic production.

The government last week released a plan on air quality control, under which at least 70 percent of steel mills, chemicals and fertilizer plants must be equipped with automatic emission monitoring systems by 2020.

VietNamnet Bridge - Iron & steel manufacturers can anticipate a tough year 2016, when low-cost products, especially from China, will flow to Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - Zincox Resources Plc from the UK plans to spend $115 million to build a plant to treat the dust produced by electric arc furnaces from the steel mills in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese steel manufacturers oppose the possible imposition of safeguard measures against ingot steel imports, saying that higher taxes will increase prices.

VietNamNet Bridge - Investors are still interested in steel projects despite the warning about the oversupply of structural steel and protests from environmentalists.

VietNamNet Bridge - The 7.5 percent price increase in electricity prices, starting from March 16, will cost small businesses hundreds of millions of dong and big businesses billions of dong a month.

The mammoth $4.5 billion steel project, which was considered the pride and hope of Quang Ngai province, has turned out to be a big disappointment as it has not taken any move forward so far.

Formosa Plastics has just started the construction of the first blast furnace of the steel mill in Vung Ang economic zone. However, industry experts say they feel worry instead of joy about the project which may bring unforeseen consequences.