硬如钢铁（五）

来自The Edge的报道。只要自動定價機制一被推行，本地钢铁的价钱肯定会调高，问题是刚在大选大输的国政还敢让它起价吗？不起的话，钢铁业者肯定会减产，到时本地钢铁市场可能会出现短缺的现象。

04-04-2008: Govt mulls liberalisation of steel and cement sectors
The government is studying the feasibilty of gradually liberalising the local steel and cement industries, a move which could allow builders and property developers in Peninsular Malaysia to import long steel products.

International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the authorities' decision to review its policies on steel and cement was aimed at boosting competitiveness in both sectors, following the government's move to allow imports both materials into Sabah and Sarawak in February.

"We need to progressively liberalise the steel and cement industries. There will be certain controls in terms of exports and pricing.

"We might have to look again (at the possibility of allowing the import of steel into Peninsular Malaysia)," Muhyiddin told reporters.

Sarawak’s The Eastern Times reported in February that the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry had allowed the import of steel and cement in Sabah and Sarawak amid a shortage of the construction materials in the local market.

The materials, according to the news report, could be sourced from countries like the Philippines and Vietnam.

In a joint statement on March 8 last year, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association and Master Builders Association Malaysia had attributed the shortage of steel products in the country to local steel millers preferring to export their products to capitalise on higher prices overseas.

Both associations contended that many contractors had to buy steel bars from the grey market to keep up with construction schedules, at prices higher than the controlled rates set by the government.

"It won't have a major impact on local steel players," OSK Investment Bank Bhd analyst Ng Sem Guan told The Edge.

According to Ng, should foreign steel products be allowed entry into Peninsular Malaysia, local millers' access capacity would still allow them to capitalise on the shortage of the material in the Asean region due to China's move to curb exports of the building material.

写于四月五日二零零八年