TABLE OF
CONTENTS

No. 4/December 2015

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CEO Foreword - Iron & Steel in need of transformation
Do Anti-dumping Duties Last Forever and Can an Antidumping Duty be Reviewed?
Review of Malaysian Standards for Metallic Materials andSemi-Finished Products and the Way Forward
Iron & Steel Labour Projection : Supply vs Demand
Event: Outreach Programme – Introduction to Iron & Steel by
Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel)
Event: Stainless Steel in Architectural and Construction
Seminar (Excerpts-Courtesy of The Nickel Institute)
Announcements related to the Iron & Steel Industry
Events and Activities

pg 1
pg 1

CEO
FOREWORD

pg 4
pg 5
pg 6
pg 7
pg 8
pg 8

Do Anti-dumping Duties Last Foreverand Can an Anti-dumping Duty be
Reviewed?
Having covered theinstitutionofantidumping (AD) measures,
we now turn to thefollowing questions how long can an antidumping
measurebe imposed (Sunset
Review)?
Once
ananti-dumping duty is
imposed, can this AD
duty rate be reviewed(Interim Review)? What about a foreign producer who was not investigated in theoriginal investigate - can this producer apply to be given an individual dumping
margin (New Shipper/Expedited Review)?
This article addresses these questions and looks at some statistics on Sunset
Reviews
The WTO Antidumping Agreement (WTO ADA) provides for three (3) types ofreviews under Article 11 of WTO ADA – Duration and Review of Anti-Dumping
Duties and Price Undertakings, covering Sunset Review and Interim Review; andArticle 9.5 - New Shipper Review/Expedited Review. Let us examine each of them.
Sunset Review
In the WTO ADA jargon, the AD duty imposed shall remain in force only as long as
the extent necessary to counteract dumping which is causing injury. The definitive
AD duty shall be terminated not later than five years from the original imposition or
any interim review conducted that covered both dumping margin and injury.
This simply means that the AD duty will normally expire after being in place for five
years; unless towards the end of the five years, the domestic industry requests fora review – in support for the continued imposition of the AD duty by showing that
if the AD duty were allowed to expire, it would likely lead to the continuation orrecurrence of dumping causing injury to the industry. If no such request is made,the AD measure will automatically expire after five years.
Any Issue With This?
Response: Yes! Why?
Prior to WTO coming into force in January 1995, there was no mandatory
requirement to limit the duration of AD measures, except if countries chose toinclude a limitation in their legislations. Although, Article 11 of WTO ADA provides

In the past twelve months the Malaysian Iron
and Steel industry has been bracing itself for avery challenging time ahead. Apart from the stiffcompetition owing to the aggressive dumpingof steel products globally at below cost of
production, RHB Research Institute has alluded
that the problems in the steel industry is a
structural one and that it would need time to beresolved. Despite the Ringgit depreciating, thevolume of imports keeps increasing and the costof imported steel products remains competitive.
However, it is not all gloom and doom for theindustry and there is hope of seeing the light at
the end of the tunnel. The industry is alreadylooking into re-inventing itself in order to become
relevant and sustainable in the future. It isalready mulling some game-changing strategic
restructuring to consolidate its resources andbuild economies of scale to enable and achievesustainability as well as be resilient to the cyclicalchanges which are inherent in the industry.
With the relatively small market size (10 mil mt/
annum) in Malaysia, the situation cannot support
dispersed capacity for both flat products andlong products. Likewise, the mid-stream players
should also consider seriously about merging
their operations to create a critical mass not only
to become more cost efficient but also to give
good service to customers both in terms of quality
products and on time delivery thereby being
formidable in battling for a larger market share in
the ever demanding trading environment where
currently, price seems to be the determining
factor.
The findings and outcomes of a mini-lab
facilitated by PEMANDU, that brought stakeholders from both the public and private sectors
together, further support the case for industry
consolidation. From 2016-2020, in order to takea positive way forward, the strategy would be forthe industry to undertake structural adjustments
and accelerate the transformation from beinga group of fragmented upstream and midstream players to a consolidated one – boththrough vertical and horizontal integration. The
government too should ensure limiting additional
MSI / 1

Continuation of CEO foreword
new capacity of the same category of products in the alreadyover-crowded market made worse off by low priced import. The
steel players, on their part, need to shift to an innovation-driven
mode, enhance their productivity and boost quality/value andupgrade product standards, despite the austere environment.
With the prevailing demand for the competitively priced
construction grade steel and the increasing restraint on financial
facilities imposed on the iron & steel industry, it will be a challenge
to win market share and at the same time embark on quality
development to provide greater benefits to customers. It is
incumbent then that the industry embark on a consolidation andtransformation programme, upgrading production facilities andmanufacture of steel products to meet downstream requirements/
demand.
What needs to be done?
Initiatives have to be put in place to enhance industry relations
by bringing together stakeholders to meet regularly to share
information and discuss issues affecting their businesses.
Through dialogues & informal gatherings, it is possible to build
understanding amongst the stakeholders, build ties and promote
goodwill and seek support and cooperation in buying locally
produced products for both domestic and overseas projects/
demand. Based on the exposure we have had, as well as on theinformation gleaned from interacting with the industry players,
this important ingredient of cooperation and support seems to bewhat is lacking for the development of the iron & steel industry.
Besides this, it appears more emphasis should be given ortime allocated to research and development; If we are to move
forward, there needs to be a concerted effort among the industry,
academia and government to collaborate their energies to share
the responsibility of making inroads into Research & Development.
In this regard, a promising option would be the creation of an
Innovation and R&D fund to move the industry up the value chain.
To move the industry players out of their comfort zone of standard
product lines and into moving up the value chain, inducement to
be initiated through pro-R&D and innovation policies in focusedareas by the relevant government bodies/agencies in the formof incentives and/or matching grants. The focused areas to bein line with the promoted catalytic sectors under RMK 11, vis-avis E&E, M&E, Automotive, Aerospace & Medical devices. The
development could be in the form of new technologies, including
green and energy efficient ones. Domain experts could besought from Tier I international steel players to partner our local
manufacturers to enhance capabilities as well as tap into theinternational steel supply chain network. MSI has been made tounderstand that foreign Tier I steel players are ready to work withlocal players; all that is needed is for someone to ignite the movefor joint collaboration and the others will follow. The time is not
only right but also ripe for such collaborative efforts.

By taking such initiatives now, the industry will be better
positioned to take advantage of the next wave of boom time through China’s pipeline efforts vis-a-vis the financial backing
by Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on infrastructure
projects and the implementation of the “One Belt One Road” plan
- the impetus for regional growth.
Export promotion, working in tandem, should also be given
equal emphasis to make inroads into foreign markets. This will
require industry commitment and participation in trade missionsorganized by MATRADE to potential emerging markets like
Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Africa and the Middle Easterncountries.
At the home front, a conducive environment has to be createdthrough out-reach programmes to enhance the knowledge ofenforcement agencies to eliminate leakages purportedly throughmisleading declaration and circumvention to evade taxes
including compliance with Certificates of Acceptance (COA)
requirements.
While moving all the above forward, we cannot afford to neglect
human capital development – something which MSI has alreadyembarked on. MSI has been appointed the Lead Body by the
Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran (JPK) under the Ministry of
Human Resources to assess and identify the talent needs of theindustry and to provide training to equip young talents with skills
relevant to the real industry needs and requirements, including thedevelopment of the curriculum for the Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) and the National Dual Training
System (NDTS). Progress has been made where MSI has alreadycompleted the Occupational Analysis to identify the gaps inmatching the talents to the industrial needs. With these findings,
a comprehensive National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS)
will be formulated to provide direction and guidance for the
institutions of higher learning to implement and produce qualified
talents to fit into and contribute to the industry transformation plan– moving from labour intensive to capital intensive (automation).
This in turn is expected to not only help reduce the current
dependency on foreign workers but also help in the retention,
continuous training and upgrading of proficiency levels among the
local (Malaysian) steel workers.
It is our aspiration that through the above proposedtransformation initiatives, the iron & steel industry be propelled
to greater heights in terms of value-creation, productivity andprofitability. Above all the industry would get a new lease of hopeand achieve an image changeover to lend greater confidence
to the investors, the banking sector and the people employed
directly and indirectly by the iron and steel industry.
LEE KHIM MENGCEO OF MSI

Continuation: Do Anti-dumping Duties Last Forever and Can an Anti-dumping Duty be Reviewed?
a mandatory time limit of five years, the Article does not provide clear guidelines in the conduct of sunset reviews.
In fact there is great room and leeway for manoeuvre when determining likelihood for the continuation or recurrence of dumping causing
injury to the industry – this simply implies it would not be that difficult to justify the need to continue imposing the AD measure foranother five years. Furthermore, there is no limit as to how many times the AD measure can be reviewed and renewed through sunset
reviews! These are the current issues facing sunset reviews!
Where does the Sunset Review not apply?
However for those foreign producers/exporters where a ‘de minimis’ AD duty (lower than 2% AD duty) has been established, the sunset
review does not apply.
Interim Review
During the five year period, before the automatic termination of the AD duty after five years, any interested party (industry/foreign
producer/importer) may request the Investigating Authority to conduct either a full interim review which will involve both the review of
MSI / 2the AD duty rate and injury of the importing domestic industry; or apartial interim review that will be limited to just the AD duty rate. If afull interim review is done, then the new duty rates can be imposed
for another five years from the date of the full interim review; apartial interim review may result in a change in AD duty rate; with anincrease or decrease depending on the findings, and this rate isapplied prospectively for the remaining period of the original AD
measure. Specific to the US system, which uses the retrospective
application of AD duties, the US conducts reviews annually on its
own, the AD duty reviewed will be applied retrospectively.

––

Statistical overview of Sunset Reviews of selected countries

Chart 1 provides an overview of the total anti-dumping measures inforce by country as at 30 June 2015. It is then further separated by
the periods the measures were originally imposed:

Similarly as in the case of the sunset review, those foreign
producers/exporters where a ‘de minimis’ AD duty (lower than
2% AD duty) has been established, an interim review does not
apply.
New Shipper/Expedited Review
Individual AD duties are imposed on cooperating foreign
producers/exporters in an AD investigation. However, for those
producers/exporters who did not export or did not exist during
the original period of investigation, an AD duty under “Others”
or “Residual” category will be imposed. The WTO ADA makes
provision for the assessment of anti-dumping duties on exports
from producers/exporters who did not export or who were notin existence during the period of investigation to apply for thisreview. In this circumstance, the Investigating Authority, based on
the request, will need to conduct an expedited review (New Shipper
Review) to determine a specific AD duty for the requesting foreign
producer/exporter.
To qualify for a New Shipper Review, the foreign producer / exporter
must fulfil certain conditions. The foreign producer/exporter:•Must not have exported during the original investigating
period;•Must not be related to any exporter or producer imposed withspecific AD duty; and•Must have made some exports or has contractual agreement
to export to the importing country. (This third condition isdependent on the legislation of the country in which therequest is being made and is not stipulated under WTO ADA).
Some statistics on Sunset Reviews
Having dealt with Reviews under the WTO ADA, let us examinesome statistics on sunset reviews to get a flavour of how long haveanti-dumping measures have been extended after the five-year
sunset reviews.
––

Take the US for example, it has 166 AD measures in force as at 30
June 2015, of which 53 (31.9%) were originally imposed earlier than
2001, 48 (28.9%) imposed between 2001 and 2005, 47 (28.3%)
measures imposed between 2006-2010 and since 2011, 18 (10.8%)
AD measures have been imposed. Futher, of the 166 AD measuresin place by the US, 148 (89.1%) AD measures have been extended
through Sunset Reviews. The US clearly stands out as having
maintained the AD measures for such long periods since the original
imposition – supporting the earlier understanding that it is possible
to continue imposing AD measures for such long periods throughsunset (five-year) reviews. A distant second is India (in terms ofnumbers of AD measures) where from the total of 91 AD measuresin place, 55 (60.4%) AD measures have been extended throughsunset reviews.
––

AD Measures – Extension through Sunset Reviews vs New
Measures

Following this, Chart 2 below captures the number of AD measuresin force through sunset reviews as against new imposition of AD
measures that have not gone through any sunset review yet:Background of data on Sunset Reviews

First, the data used is obtained from the WTO website on
notifications by each WTO Member as mandated under Article
16.4 of the WTO ADA i.e. to provide semi-annual reports
updating on anti-dumping measures by each WTO Member.
For the purpose of this article, the selection of countries (fifteen
countries) is based on our earlier article on top users of the antidumping measures – so there is a limitation, in that the data does
not comprehensively cover all WTO Members.
Second, the number of AD measures in force quoted, refers to
the number of products imposed with AD measures by a country
and not on number of countries imposed with AD duties.
Third, a slight caution when looking at the numbers of AD
measures in place as a result of sunset reviews. Thesefigures may also in a way depend on how long ago the IA wasestablished. Those IAs that have been recently established may
show a lower number of AD measures or no AD measures in place Chart 3 below shows in percentage terms AD measures that are inthrough sunset reviews. This also does not necessarily imply that force in the selected countries (as of 30 June 2015) after undergoingan IA established in early 1990s would have higher number of AD sunset review:
measures in force through Sunset Reviews.
Fourth, for AD measures recorded for the period 2011 to 2015,
generally these measures have not undergone Sunset Reviews.

MSI / 3was established and these AD measures continue to be imposed
till today. Australia has two such AD measures, both instituted in
1992; Mexico with one since 1993; Canada one since 1984; andSouth Africa one since 1993 – all imposed before the WTO wasestablished and these measures continue to be imposed! Since
the US has 31 measures imposed prior to 1995 and these are stillin place, it would be interesting to look into further details of these
31 AD measures: It is to be noted that four measures are in placesince 1994; 3 three since 1993; four since 1992; three since 1991;
one each since 1989 and 1988; four since 1987; five since 1986;
four since 1984; one since 1978; and finally one since 1977 – inplace for 38 years!

Again, US ranks number one with 89.2% (148 AD measures) of
its AD measures that are in place are as a result of extensions oforiginal investigations - after conducting sunset reviews. This isfollowed by South Africa (78.9%), Turkey (78.1%), Egypt (75.0%),
Mexico (63.6%), China (61.5%) and India (60.4%); with the rest
below 60% but still above 40%, (except for the three ASEANCountries) - i.e. these figures are still high - to continue imposing
the AD measures after five years! Focusing on the three ASEAN
countries, 33.3% of the AD measures in force by both Thailand
and Indonesia are extensions through sunset reviews; whereas
Malaysia is the only country that has no AD measure in placethrough sunset review as at 30 June 2015.
––

How far back were some of these AD measures originallyimposed?

For this we look deeper into the category of AD measuresoriginally imposed before 2001 – i.e. more than 15 years ago! Outof the 15 selected countries, only eight (8) countries have original
AD measures imposed before 2001 and these measures are stillin place. Chart 4 provides a further break down of numbers of AD
measures imposed before the WTO was established (1 January1995) and between 1995 and 2000:

Conclusion
As mentioned earlier and based on the analysis of the sample
data on sunset reviews it appears that there is enough leeway
for manoeuvrability to maintain an AD measure for long periods
through sunset reviews.
So exporters beware! Take heed not to get entangled into an antidumping investigation – you are never sure, once the AD duties
are imposed – when it can be removed!

Of those measures in place prior to 2001, 58.5% (31 AD
measures) of the US measures were in place before the WTO

Review of Malaysian Standards for Metallic Materials and SemiFinished Products and its Way Forward
Introduction
The Malaysian Standards are maintained with the objectiveof being up to date and technically valid. The maintenance of
Malaysian Standards may include the publication of amendments
and periodic review of all standards. STANDARDS MALAYSIA iscommitted to maintain the published Malaysian Standards (MS)which add to the net benefit of the Malaysian community.
What is a Periodic Review?
In principle, all MS are subject to review at least every five (5)years after publication or at the last confirmation of the standard.
However, during those five (5) years, many of these standards
might have been technically or editorially amended, but many
continue to be used in the original form.
A periodic review exercise is conducted to identify those MS(s)that are overdue for review. Through this exercise, the TechnicalCommittees [TC]/Working Groups [WG] are tasked to undertakesuch reviews within their area of oversight based on the fact thatthe continuation of standards be fit for purpose and have market
relevance. The outcome of the review can be one of the following,in which the MS can be:a. revised;b. confirmed;c. withdrawn without replacement; ord. withdrawn with replacement/superseded.
All outcomes of the review must be justified.
MSI / 4

In some cases, the MS may be reviewed in less than 5 years due
to rapid technology changes or if there is evidence that one of its
standards is unclear, inaccurate, disputable, or in any other way
not fit for the very purpose it was developed.
Recent standardisation activities for the metallic materials andsemi-finished products
A workshop on metallic materials and semi-finished products
was organised by SIRIM Berhad on 7 & 8 October 2015 with thefollowing objectives:a. To expedite the process of reviewing the identified 168
published MS that were published in 2011 or earlier.
b. To identify and recommend three (3) year work programmes(from 2016-2018) including new projects or new focus areasfor each TC/WG and the way forward. These are identified
based on the following criteria:i.
potential use by the industries and stakeholders;ii. new focus areas based on current needs;iii. ensure MS to be developed is in line with the following
criteria proposed by STANDARDS MALAYSIA:
government directives (e.g. National Key Economics
1) Areas (NKEA));
net benefit impacts on: public health and safety,2) environment, competition, economy;references in legislation (mandatory standard); or
3) international alignment (Identical (IDT)/Modified4) (MOD).

The following are the outcomes decided after the 168 MS werereviewed as:
StatusTC/WG during
the workshop.
These
new
projects will
be prioritised
based on theurgencyofthe standards
required. They
are as follows:

Number of MalaysianStandards

Revision

99

Confirmation

32

Withdraw with replacement/superseded

3

Withdraw without replacement

29

Amendment (editorial or technical)

1

Work in progress (revision or conversionof Provisional Malaysian Standards tonormal Malaysian Standard).

4

During the review, when MS with low usage and no sales wereamended, it was imperative that the TC/WG ensure that theexisting and new MS developed be still relevant to the needs ofthe stakeholders.
Among the 29 MS to be withdrawn without replacement, 26
were identical to or modified from International Standard (IS).
There were no sales since publication (based on the study usageof MS conducted by SIRIM Berhad), and as such the TC/WG
proposed to directly use the IS without having to further workon maintaining or updating a withdrawn Standard as it was an
obsolete Malaysian Standard.
A withdrawal of this nature requires that it undergoes Public
Comment for 2 months. Any objection to withdrawal will beconsidered by the relevant TC/WG.
Besides low usage or no sales, the Malaysian Standard may
also be withdrawn, if:
a. it is not up-to-date technically;b. it does not reflect current practice or research;c. it is not suitable for new and existing applications (products,
systems or processes); andd. it is not compatible with current views and expectations
regarding quality, safety and the environment.
The Way forward
Looking ahead, 12 new projects were identified by the relevant

a. mandatory
standards that are currently referred to in the Act/
Regulation;b. Provisional Malaysian Standards that are required to beconverted to normal Malaysian Standards; orc. impact to public health and safety, environment,competition, and economy.
During the approval of new projects, the ISC is required toensure the adoption of IS are made based on relevance of thestandards to industries and stakeholders and the availability ofpotential users. In a situation where the adopted MS is not likely
to be widely used, direct use of international standards may be
the more suitable option.
With the recent approval of the CIDB Act 520 in June 2015,
more MS(s) will be implemented by the Construction Industry
Development Board (CIDB) for product quality assessment andissuance of the Certificate of Approval for building materials.
Therefore, it is very important to update and maintain all the
Malaysian Standards on metallic materials and semi-finishedproducts (especially Iron and steel products that are used forstructural purposes) to ensure that these products comply withthe latest MS(s). Hence, the community’s safety is protected
through quality and safe products. Products without MalaysianStandards, will be categorised as new projects, and prioritised in
the work programme by the relevant TC(s)/WG(s).
In addition, having the Malaysian Standards up to date also
minimises the issues on circumventions and sub-standard
products being imported into the country. Therefore, it is very
important to review the Malaysian Standards from time to timeto ensure that our standards are always technically valid and at
par with the international requirements. This will enhance our
global competitiveness.

Iron & Steel Labour Projection : Supply vs Demand
Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials
Engineering and Metallurgy at public universities and community
colleges.

The Malaysia Steel Institute (MSI) has successfully completed
the Occupational Analysis (OA) report identifying the work scopeof the occupational sub-areas in terms of competencies. This
report is used to analyse the human resource skill competency
requirement for the industry. The National Occupational Skills
Standard (NOSS) will form the basis to conduct skills training andcertification of competent personnel.
The OA report was prepared based on demand-supply data as
obtained from Department of Statistics, Malaysian Standard
Industry Classification Codes and Department of Skills
Development for Malaysian Skills Certification.
Utilizing historical data till year 2013, a linear regression
analysis was carried out to project the supply data till the year
2020 covering certificate to degree levels for courses such as

Outcomes of the analysis shows that there will be increase in
the number of certificate holders estimated at 16,900 graduatesin 2020. An increase is also expected in the number of diploma
holders estimated at 4,056 graduates. The increase in the numberof degree holders however is not as high as certificate / diploma.
The high increase in certificate and diploma holders may be due
to increased awareness of the demand for certificate and diploma
holders in the industry and an increase in the number of training
institutions offering courses in areas of foundry, production,mechanical production and metallurgy at certificate and diploma
levels.
The aggregate total number of workers entering the industry withqualifications in 2020 is estimated at 234,100.The supply anddemand gap analysis shows that there will be an undersupplyof certificate holders in the industry till 2017, but projected forthe gap to decrease from the year 2018 onwards and by 2020
there is an estimated oversupply of 2,752 certificate holders in
the industry.
Currently there is a short supply of diploma holders too in theindustry, and this trend is projected to continue till 2020. It isestimated there will be short supply of diploma holders of 1,445 in
2020. In order to reduce the undersupply, efforts should be taken
MSI / 5to offer more relevant diploma level courses either under the accreditation of the Malaysia Skills Diploma (MSD) or under The Ministryof Higher Education (MOHE).
When it comes to workers with degree qualifications, the analysis shows an undersupply by 5,057 workers in year 2013; thisundersupply is expected to widen to 6,267 in 2020.
The study projects gaps in supply-demand of the right qualified and skilled persons over time. It is therefore pertinent that measures
be taken to address this issue. This is where Malaysia Steel Institute is trying to play a role by collaborating with JPK to not only bridge
the gap but also ensure correct match of qualified persons to meet the demand of the industry.

Event: Outreach Programme – Introduction to Iron & Steel by
Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel)On 06 November 2015, Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd(Masteel) organized an outreach programme with the aimof providing Government Ministries and Agencies (namely
MITI, Customs, MIDA and MSI) with a better understandingof deformed bars in terms of its manufacturing process,identification and testing.
Masteel has two steel plants, one in Bukit Raja and theother in Petaling Jaya, Selangor that produces high tensile
deformed bars; mild steel bars; and prime steel billets. Bothplants are equipped with modern and fully computerized
equipment hence the involvement of labour in both plants
is minimal.
Introduction to deformed bars manufacturing
There are eight (8) main processes in the manufacture of Deformed Bar
the deformed bars are:i.

Alloy Steel Bar

Furnace – The billets are heated up to 1,000 °C to 1,200 °C before going through the major reduction process. The furnace
temperature requires monitoring to ensure that the billets are heated at the desired temperature.
ii. Roughing mill area – The heated billets have to go through 18 steps of major reduction in size. Gap monitoring is required toensure the constant reduction in every step.
iii. Intermediate & finishing area – After 18 steps of major reduction, the deformed bars are further rolled (8 steps) into the desired
diameter. The ribbing/profiling is the last process before the deformed bars are sent for thermal cooling (quenching process).
Flow rate and pressure monitoring is to ensure the desired diameter and properties meets requirements.
iv. Thermal cooling (quenching) – After the bars are formed to the desired diameter and profile, they have to go through thermalcooling (quenching process) to achieve the required hardness for the surface of the deformed bars. The cooling medium is thewater jet. Flow rate and pressure monitoring of the water jet is to ensure the desired surface hardness is achieved.
v. Delivery equipment – After thermal cooling, the deformed bars are delivered using the double channel high speed delivery
equipment.
vi. Cooling bed – The deformed bars will take 30 minutes to fully cool down. The weight and the rib height monitoring are to ensure
the weight and rib height meet the requirements.
vii. Cold shearing machine – The deformed bars will be cut to 12 – metre strips and the short length will be reused as scrap.
viii. Bundling machine – The finished deformed bars are bundled using this machine. The rejected bars are downgraded andsprayed with white paint.
After bundling, the products are stored accordingly and ready for delivery.
Deformed bars (HS7214) VS Alloy bars (HS7228)
Many find it difficult to differentiate deformed bars and alloybars. The differences are:••Deformed bars are used for the construction industry whilealloy bars are used for the engineering and fabricationindustry.
Deformed bars have ribbed surfaces while alloy bars havesmooth surfaces.

Plant visit
During the 45 - minute plant tour, the participants were taken
to see the production process from heating up the billets to thefinal products. Other than that, the participants also had theopportunity to see how Masteel carries out quality assurance
in the testing of steel bars where the dimension checking andthe tensile testing are carried out at the testing lab.
Participants of the Outreach Programme

MSI / 6

Event: Stainless Steel in Architectural and Construction Seminar(Excerpts - Courtesy of The Nickel Institute)
The Stainless Steel in Architectural and Construction Seminar wasorganized by the Malaysia Iron & Steel Industry Federation with Dr Graham
Sussex from The Nickel Institute (NI) as the presenter. The Nickel Institute(NI) is a global association that represents 85% of the world’s primary
Nickel Producers. Their goal is to promote and support the use of nickel invarious applications including the manufacturing of Stainless Steel. Amongthe activities undertaken by NI are the following;

and other substances even when subjected to temperatures of 150 oC.
Figure 4 shows some examples of applications for stainless steel use.

Scientific research programs into the effects on health andenvironment from the use of Nickel;
Market development for Nickel applications; andTechnical education on aspects related to Nickel applications.

•••

The seminar provided a good overview of Stainless Steel applications
in architectural and construction applications. Stainless Steel usage is
growing at the pace of 5.44% annually which is greater than aluminium at
3.71% and other metals at 2.54% . Figure 1 shows the growth comparison
among stainless steel, aluminium and other metals.
Source: Nickel Institute/ISSF
Figure 3: Examples of buildings constructed in the last 90 years as theystand in the present

Source: ISSF
Figure 1: Stainless Steel Growth (1950 – 2014)

Source: Nickel InstituteThe rapid usage growth in Stainless Steel is encouraged by the following
properties of the steel versus other metals:

Figure 4: Stainless steel in food and medical applications

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Exceptional Resistance to Corrosion
Long Service Life
Clean, unchanging appearance
Cleanable and hygienic
Reusable and Recyclable

Stainless steel can be fully recycled. The by-products of slags and steel
dust can be converted into asphalt for road construction. Stainless steel is
one of the most recyclable metals amongst the rest as illustrated in Table
1 below:

Source: ISSF
Source: Nickel Institute

Table 1: Recyclability among metals

Figure 2: Corrosion resistance of Stainless Steel vs. other metals

Its high recyclability also makes stainless steel the least pollutant among
other metals and ideal for the constructions of green buildings with tightenvironmental standards to adhere to.

Figure 2 shows the corrosion resistance of stainless steel Grade 316 versus
other metals commonly used in architecture and construction.
The high corrosion resistance makes stainless steel the material of choicefor infrastructures built for marine usages, storage tanks and sewage
plants among others.

In summary, stainless steel usage is growing especially in architecturaland construction applications because of its unique property of resisting
corrosion. Buildings constructed from stainless steel require lesser
maintenance which potentially helps reduce maintenance cost significantlyin the long run.

Stainless steel also has a long service life due to its high resistance tocorrosion. Buildings constructed from stainless steel will appear new.
Figure 3 shows a few examples of architectures constructed from stainlesssteel in the early 20th century.

We would expect to see the usage of stainless steel to continue to growin architecture and construction applications as the prices for the various
grades become more affordable in the future.

Stainless steel is also hygienic and is used in medical applications andfood manufacturing. It is chemically stable when in contact with chemicals

MSI / 7

Announcements related to the Iron & Steel Industry
Policy on Manufacturing Licence (ML)issuance for iron & steel industry

Improved duty exemption procedures
through duty drawback facility

To maintain the current policy on theissuance of ML for new/expansion projectapplications, subject to the fact that they are
under the following areas :•high technology projects;•
energy efficient projects; and•projects to produce higher-grade
materials which do not compete withcurrent capacity in Malaysia.

For importation of raw materials to produce
finished goods for export, the current
duty exemption procedures will be further
improved through duty drawback facility.
MITI is working towards the implementationof the duty drawback facility in January
2016.

Standards for HS7227 (Alloy Steel for Wire
Rods)
Malaysia is developing its own MalaysianStandard (MS), in the interim of consideringand adapting internationally recognised
or national standards for HS7227 (Alloysteel for wire rods). Once approved, it willthen be used as a basis for the Certificate
of Approval (COA) on the importation of
HS7227 products. The Approval Permit (AP)requirement for HS7227 will be lifted after
the implementation of the COA.

15% import duty structure for flat products
The Cabinet has agreed to extend theimport duty structure for flat products at
15% till 2019. The tariff will only be reduced
to 0-10% in 2020 instead of 2018.

Threshold for the export of scrap iron
The threshold for allowing the export ofscrap iron is reduced from 50% to 20%,
subject to domestic consumption. On theother hand, the export duty of 10% on scrap
iron will be eliminated. This new policy will
be implemented in January 2016.

Events And Activities
1. AMM’s 21st Mexican Steel Forum
Date: 27 - 29 Jan 2016
Venue: InterContinental Cancun, Mexico
Contact Details :Tel: Tel: +1 212 901 3828
Email: marketing@amm.com

4. Rod & Bar Rolling – A Practical Training Seminar
Date: 22 - 25 Feb 2016
Venue: Hilton Palacio Del Rio, San Antonio, TX, USA
Contact Details :Tel: +1 724 814 3000
Fax: +1 724 814 3001
Email: memberservices@aist.org

2. Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking - A Practical
Training Seminar
Date: 1 - 5 Feb 2016
Venue: The DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton JacksonvilleRiverfront, Jacksonville, FL, USA
Contact Details :Tel: +1 724 814 3000
Fax: +1 724 814 3001
Email: memberservices@aist.org

5. Global Iron Ore & Steel Forecast Conference
Date: 8 - 9 March 2016
Venue: Hyatt Regency Perth Limited, 834002 Ranchi,
India
Contact Details :Tel: +61 2 9080 4307
Email: info@informa.com.au

3. 4th International Conference on Thermomechanical
Simulation and Processing of Steel (SimPro’16)
Date: 10 - 12 Feb 2016
Venue: Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, U.A.E
Contact Details :Tel: +44 (0) 20 7779 7222
Email: marketing@metalbulletin.com

6. AMM’s 9th Steel Tube + Pipe Conference
Date: 8 - 10 March 2016
Venue: Doubletree Houston Greenway Plaza Hotel
Houston, USA
Contact Details :Tel: +1 212 901 3828
Email: marketing@amm.com

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