Saudi Arabia’s Zamil eyes greater market share in structural steel

Zamil Steel Buildings Vietnam plans to expand its operations and take a bigger market share in structural steel, general director Krishnakanth Kodukula said Friday.

Speaking at a function organized to mark the 25th anniversary of the Saudi Arabia-headquartered firm’s first factory in Vietnam, Kodukula said the domestic steel market is set to see fundamental changes in the next five years as the country furthers regional and global integration.

He said the firm has been investing significantly in digitalization and Industry 4.0 technology in order to provide products and services with higher quality and innovation to customers.

Such investments indicate the high hopes that Zamil pins on Vietnam and ASEAN markets, Kodukula added.

Abdulla Mohammed Al Zamil, chairman of the Zamil Industrial Investment Company, said in a Hanoi meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu, also last Friday, that his company’s decision to expand its production in Vietnam was based on the country’s open and transparent investment environment.

Hieu responded that Vietnam always facilitates operations of businesses from the Middle East and urged Zamil Industrial to encourage other Saudi Arabian firms to invest in Vietnam.

After entering Vietnam in 1993, Zamil Vietnam launched two factories in 1997 (Hanoi) and 2008 (Dong Nai province) with a total output of 120,000 tons a year, becoming one of Southeast Asia's biggest steel building producers. The firm has supplied materials to 7,000 projects in the Asia-Pacific region, including 2,000 in Vietnam.

Major projects of Zamil Steel Vietnam include Pit building of F1 race track in Hanoi, VinFast's auto factory, airports in Cambodia’s Phnom Penh and Siam Reap, and a petrochemical complex of Petronas in Malaysia.

In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam produced 20.81 million tons of steel, down 5.8% year-on-year; and sold 19.26 million tons, down 1.6%. The sold steel included 4.56 million tons of exports, down 7.4% year-on-year.