[Ferro-Alloys.com]

  01 Global steel enterprises actively fight against epidemic and ensure production

  Affected by coronavirus pandemic, the global steel and upstream and downstream enterprises have been cut down since early 2020. Demand is shrinking and supply is blocked. They face high shut down costs and large cash pressure. In particular, the European steel industry has not yet been completely out of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, but also suffered this blow, the situation is grim. Fortunately, the main iron ore producing areas have not become the "worst hit areas" of the epidemic. The epidemic has little impact on the actual supply of iron ore, and the production and supply of other iron and steel raw materials industries (metallurgical coal and scrap) have not been greatly affected.

  Global iron and steel enterprises actively fight the epidemic and ensure production, and take various measures to break through the dilemma. For example, POSCO of South Korea made a breakthrough through stock repurchase, industry mutual assistance and the establishment of research institutes; Tata Steel of India timely adjusted its operation mode, reduced its output in Europe, strengthened its domestic business in India, expanded its steel exports, strengthened its high-quality products and featured services, and actively sought loan support from the local government; ThyssenKrupp of Germany reassessed its investment in the group To speed up the pace of diversification strategy transformation and so on.

  It is worth mentioning that since the second quarter of 2020, with China's epidemic basically under control, coupled with more relaxed fiscal policy and more flexible monetary policy, as well as the boost of traditional infrastructure and new infrastructure demand, China's economy has gradually warmed up, and China's steel industry, which has more than half of the global crude steel production, is helping the global steel industry out of the impact of the epidemic and back on track, which has played an important role in the world.

  Comments: During the process of global iron and steel industry's anti-epidemic and production guarantee, China's iron and steel industry is worthy of the "leader".

• [Editor:Catherine Ren]