Local building boom will fuel growth, says top Vietnam steelmaker

Business Times

20-05-2025

[HANOI] Vietnam's top steelmaker Hoa Phat Group is counting on the nation's rising economic growth and massive infrastructure projects from railways to seaports to fuel the company's expansion and cushion any fallout from US tariffs.
The company targets 15 per cent annual revenue growth in the 2025 to 2030 period, chief executive officer Nguyen Viet Thang said. That would take Hoa Phat's revenue to about 325 trillion dong (S$16.2 billion) by 2030, based on Bloomberg calculations using the projection. Last year, it recorded revenue of 140.56 trillion dong.
Hoa Phat is banking on increasing domestic steel demand driven by government-backed infrastructure projects amid challenges posed by US President Donald Trump's threatened 46 per cent tariff on Vietnamese goods, he noted.
'Our goal is not something we came up with arbitrarily. It is based on the growth foundation of Vietnam's economy,' Thang explained.
Hoa Phat is not highly exposed to international markets. The CEO said that the company aims to keep overseas sales at about 20 per cent of total revenue. Hoa Phat currently exports to about 40 countries. The company does not disclose how much of its business is tied to the US market.
Hoa Phat could, though, experience some trade-war risk if tariffs cause a slowdown in domestic industrial park construction because investors pull back, according to Bao Viet Securities analyst Minh Ton. Expansion of industrial parks, which provide factory space for global suppliers, account for as much as 20 per cent of Vietnam's steel demand, he wrote in a research note.
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The global steel market has been under pressure following US tariffs and rising measures to stem the tide of cheap Chinese steel. Most major nations aspire to have a steel industry, making it prone to bursts of protectionism.
Hoa Phat is poised to benefit from Vietnam's protective anti-dumping duty of as much as 28 per cent on Chinese imports of some hot-rolled coil – a type of steel used in everything from infrastructure to consumer goods.
The government, under pressure from Vietnamese steelmakers, also issued a levy of more than 37 per cent on Chinese imported galvanised steel. The temporary tariffs could become permanent. Vietnam is the biggest single buyer of Chinese steel outside China.
'This will support domestic producers a lot, especially Hoa Phat Group, because their new steel complex will go online this year,' said Hai Nguyen, an analyst at Maybank Investment Bank in Ho Chi Minh City. 'The Chinese sold their hot-rolled coil at a discount.'
Hoa Phat dodged US anti-dumping duties when the Department of Commerce recently ruled Hoa Phat pipe shipments to America were made in Vietnam, not China. The ruling allows the company to 'expand its export activities' in the US, Hoa Phat said.
Rail network
The company, though, sees the driver of its growth at home.
Vietnam's government aims to start building a US$67 billion high-speed rail network connecting northern and southern provinces in 2027. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Vietnam's government aims to start building a US$67 billion high-speed rail network connecting northern and southern provinces in 2027. It also plans a seaport system expansion by 2030 that will need about 351.5 trillion dong in investments.
The country's ambitious railway and metro system plans will foster 'further urbanisation and property sector expansion, which requires ample steel', Hieu Le, an analyst at Turicum Investment Management, wrote in a report.
Hoa Phat, which began in 1992 by producing machine accessories, has expanded into sectors that include real estate and agriculture. Its core business, though, is steel-making.
Hoa Phat expects to complete its Dung Quat 2 steel complex by the end of this year, increasing the company's capacity to 15 million tonnes per year from the current 11.3 million tonnes, of which 8.6 million tonnes will be for hot-rolled coil steel.
The plant will reduce average production costs for a hot-rolled coil by 11 per cent in 2025 compared to last year, giving Hoa Phat an additional competitive edge locally and abroad, according to CRU Group's research.
Hoa Phat's after-tax profit surged 76 per cent last year to 12 trillion dong, while revenue increased 18 per cent. In the first quarter, the company's profit rose 14 per cent and revenue increased 22 per cent due to strong domestic demand for construction steel.
The company targets a steel-producing capacity of 21 million tonnes per year by 2029, Thang said. Hoa Phat is planning to construct a railway track manufacturing plant next to its 85 trillion dong Dung Quat 2 Complex in Quang Ngai province.
'For at least the next five years, infrastructure will remain a bottleneck that the government wants to remove, and naturally this will lead to increased demand for steel,' Thang pointed out. BLOOMBERG