News Room - Steel Industry

State-owned steel manufacturer PT Krakatau Steel Tbk is seeking government support to face the problem posed by an influx of Chinese steel as the Chinese economy is not showing any sign of recovery.

"The fact that the Chinese economy has shown no sign of improvement has caused the worlds largest steel producer to oversupply steel. As a result, Chinese steel has flooded the Southeast Asian market, including Indonesia," PT Krakatau Steel Tbk President Director, Sukandar, said in Cilegon, Banten province, on Wednesday.

As a result of oversupply of steel, the global steel prices have fallen and steel producers have been selling their products at prices below their production cost, he said.

"We hope the government will give support so that we can improve our performance," he said.

He praised the government for its policy requiring all construction projects funded by the state budget and a number of state-owned companies to use locally-made steel and iron.

He also asked the government to ensure gas supply at fair prices at a time when the global gas price is declining.

"PGN now sells gas to us for US$7.3 million per mmbtu, while the gas price in the global market currently stands at US$3 million per mmbtu, and US$5 million per mmbtu at the ASEAN level. We hope this price will be adjusted so that we can become more competitive," he said.