Fanya's 191kg gallium auction not to weigh on market prices
----Interview with Wakaaki Uchi
Director of Overseas Sales Department
WING
Director of Overseas Sales Department
WING
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Tokyo, WING is a comprehensive company focusing on rare metals, industrial functional materials, energy rare earths, industrial and semiconductor equipment and compound semiconductor chip. The company has been the largest importer and exporter of gallium metal in Japan since 2015. It's also engaged in the import and export business of GaAs, GaN, TMGa as well as the next generation compound semiconductor Ga2O3 and other gallium extended products.
Asian Metal: Thank you for accepting our interview, Mr. Uchi. Please give us a brief introduction of the main business of your company and your own experience.
Mr. Uchi: Firstly, thanks for your invitation. As mentioned earlier, WING is a comprehensive company and engaged in the business of rare metals and other products. As the largest gallium metal trader in Japan, WING develops all-round value-added gallium metal materials and takes the lead in the business of downstream gallium products.
I spent my early years in CHINALCO Shanxi Branch and learnt about gallium metal under the influence of my father. I joined WING after graduation and began to promote gallium metal in Japan with the support and assistance of Zhuhai SEZ Fangyuan Inc. We started gallium metal business when the price was high and gradually gained a foothold after experiencing the continuous price downtrend, market reshuffle, Fanya Metal Exchange's case, environmental protection management and other unfavorable conditions. Later on, supported by Guangdong-based Vital Materials and Japanese customers, we continued deepening business and began to sell gallium related products.
Asian Metal: Japan is one of the major consumers of gallium metal. Could you talk about the current situation of Japanese gallium metal consumption industry?
Mr. Uchi: Japan is a major gallium consumer and its industry status quo and classification are similar to those of other major consumers. However, the industry pattern in Japan is slightly different from that of others due to loss of some initial products and production lines and the rising of some emerging industries. The Japanese market is classified in term of purity, including high purity (6N and higher) and low purity (below 6N).
High purity product is usually used to produce compound semiconductor materials, HVPE MBE, high purity metal doping materials and superconducting materials. In particular, compound semiconductor materials, such as GaAs, GaP, GaN and Ga2O3 chip materials, take the highest share. In the golden days, Japan consumed more than 100 tons of GaAs per annum, including recycling.
In recent years, Chinese GaAs producers emerged and took an increasing market share, so major Japanese producers cut production or terminated production, which greatly impacted the consumption of gallium. Benefiting from rising and application of the third generation wide bandgap semiconductor, demand for GaN and Ga2O3 is mounting. Besides, booming VCSEL market results in better high-end GaAs market. Thus, the negative impact is offset to some extent and we expect an annual consumption volume of about 80 tons, including recycling, in the coming years.
Low purity product is usually used to produce NdFeB magnet (as an additive), CIGS solar battery, TMGa special gas, Ga2O3 fluorescent material, IGZO and so on. It's predicted that magnet and TMGa industries are unlikely to witness great changes while CIGS, IGZO and other emerging materials would consume more gallium. The annual consumption volume in coming years is expected to be around 70 tons, including recycling.
On the whole, the overall demand in Japanese market would stabilize at 150 tons in the coming years.
Asian Metal: What are your advantages in doing a successful gallium metal business in Japan?
Mr. Uchi: Our main advantage is that we have long-term cooperation with three largest end users. Japan attaches great importance to corporate culture, so it's quite hard for overseas suppliers to trade with end users directly. Companies like WING act as a bridge between suppliers and end users. Japanese market cannot react to price changes quickly and price is not the only factor to occupy the market. Deals that are closed at low prices are always short-term cooperation. In addition, if any quality issue rises, we can handle the return or exchanging requirements at any moment and leave no inconvenience to customers. Generally speaking, we operate steadily and win the game in the special environment.
