Taiwan’s largest steelmaker China Steel Corp (CSC) vowed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by joining the global carbon neutrality campaign. CSC aims to become a high-end steelmaker and green energy company.
By 2025, the company targets to reduce carbon emissions by 7pc said chairman Wong Chao-tung to shareholders at the company’s online annual general meeting in Kaohsiung.
The steelmaker is optimistic about local steel demand and expects fundamentals to stay robust for the rest of 2021. The company has raised its September deliveries prices to adjust high raw material costs. It expects a cyclical peak demand season in the fourth quarter.
Recovering manufacturing activities in the domestic and overseas markets and active demand for vehicles, basic infrastructure, and home appliances have pushed the demand for steel in Taiwan. This will keep prices healthy, believes the company.
For 2022, CSC steel is, however, cautiously optimistic about the market outlook.
The company’s move into the renewable energy sector is a strategic investment for the future. It supplies over 70pc steel to Tesla Inc’s electric vehicle (EV) motors and is taking active initiatives to cater to the EV market in Taiwan.
CSC recovered rapidly after earnings declined in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The gross margin for high-end steel is at least 20pc. Last year, CSC shipped 296,000mt of such high-end steel.
Some of the major changes implemented last year include changes in the pricing system wherein CSC has started releasing monthly and quarterly trading prices to keep up with market conditions in real-time. Also, the steelmaker has activated its first smart blast furnace No. 2 at the end of July.