Latest news with #industryministry
Japan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Nippon Steel to invest in electric furnaces with government support
Nippon Steel said Friday that it will invest ¥868.7 billion in introducing electric furnaces at its domestic steel plants, with support from the industry ministry. The ministry announced that it will provide up to ¥251.4 billion in aid for the company's changeover from blast furnaces. Since the steel-making process produces a large amount of carbon emissions, steelmakers are now taking measures to decarbonize, including replacing blast furnaces, which use coal and other substances to make steel, with electric furnaces. Nippon Steel aims to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 30% in 2030 compared with levels in 2013, and realize net-zero emissions in 2050. The company is set to spend ¥630.2 billion in installing one electric furnace at its Kyushu Works' Yawata Area in Kitakyushu, ¥140 billion for adding one electric furnace at the Hirohata Area of its Setouchi Works in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, and ¥98.5 billion in renovating and restarting one existing electric furnace at its Yamaguchi Works in the city of Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture. After starting steel production by the second half of fiscal 2029, the three electric furnaces are expected to have a total annual output of 2.9 million tons.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Thai factory output rises in April, but 2025 forecast cut
BANGKOK, May 30 (Reuters) - Thailand's manufacturing production index (THMPI=ECI), opens new tab unexpectedly rose 2.17% in April from a year earlier on gains in manufacturing, exports of industrial goods and tourism, the industry ministry said on Friday. But output was still down 0.75% over the first four months of 2025 from a year earlier, and the ministry cut its 2025 forecast range to growth of 0% to 1% from 1.5% to 2.5%. April's rise compared with a forecast annual fall of 2.95% in a Reuters poll. March's outcome was revised to a rise of just 0.05% from an initially reported annual fall of 0.66%. Figures earlier this week showed exports rose by an annual 10.2% in April, though the commerce ministry said the outlook was challenging because of U.S. tariffs. Thailand is among Southeast Asian nations hardest hit by U.S. President Donald Trump's measures, with a 36% tariff if a reduction can't be negotiated before a moratorium ends in July. Car production in Thailand, a regional automaking centre, fell in April for the 21st straight month, down 0.4% on a yearly basis, data last week showed.
CNA
4 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Thai factory output rises 2.17% y/y in April
BANGKOK :Thailand's manufacturing production index rose 2.17 per cent in April from a year earlier, the industry ministry said on Friday, beating analysts' expectations. The figure compared with a forecast year-on-year fall of 2.95 per cent for April in a Reuters poll, and followed an annual drop of 0.66 per cent in March.
Free Malaysia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Japan enacts law obliging big firms to join carbon trading
The companies include electricity generation firms and manufacturers of steel, chemical products, cement and paper. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO : Japan's parliament enacted a law today obliging hundreds of major companies to participate in a carbon emission trading system as part of its efforts to achieve the country's climate goals. The revised law requires companies producing 100,000 tonnes of carbon emissions to participate in a trading system, which will be introduced in the fiscal year starting April 2026. An industry ministry official told AFP that the companies – which include electricity generation firms and manufacturers of steel, chemical products, cement and paper – account for roughly 60% of Japan's greenhouse gas emissions. 'With them joining the carbon trading market that the EU already has, we expect that companies will be motivated to reduce their carbon emissions and will be prompted to work on technological innovation' towards a carbon-free society, said the official. Under the trading system, companies will be allotted an annual maximum emission allowance. Carbon credits will have to be purchased on market for any amount above that cap from firms able to sell them given that their emissions are below the threshold. Japan, the world's fourth-largest economy, has set a target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 and to cut emissions by 46% by 2030 from 2013 levels.
