Liao Xingeng: Chinese ferrotungsten market to pick up

Asian Metal: Hello, Mr. Liao, thank you for your support to Asian Metal and accepting our interview.

Asian Metal: Owing to the sluggish global economy, the demand from the steel market remains weak. The ferrotungsten market runs with difficulties. Please describe the current ferrotungsten factories’ production situation.

Liao: The global economy is still in the adjustment of the post-financial crisis era, and the demand from the domestic and overseas markets continues to decrease. Ferrotungsten market remains sluggish. Before the Chinese Spring Festival holiday, Chinese major ferrotungsten enterprises were out of production. After the Spring Festival, the economy did not recover and special steel market ran slowly with weak demand for ferrotungsten, and a few ferrotungsten factories started production.

Asian Metal: As Vietnamese ferrotungsten swarms into European market, it is hard for Chinese ferrotungsten to be exported. How do you feel?

Liao: Due to various circumstances, the competitive advantage of Chinese ferrotungsten weakened in the global market and it is mainly sold in the domestic market now. European debt crisis still lasts, and the European economic recovery is slow. The European steel industry is dull, and the downstream demand remains soft, causing traders to handle inventory.

Furthermore, Vietnamese materials swarm into the European market, and ferrotungsten prices continue to decline. It is reported that in the recent days, the European market saw some low-grade ferrotungsten which were produced by iron scrap tungsten, low cost, low prices, high impurity content, so seriously affecting the quality of special steel products. If you want to produce high-quality special steel, you should use Chinese quality tungsten concentrates for the processing of raw materials. Therefore, the European ferrotungsten price decrease, and the ferrotungsten market’ recovery is mainly determined by market demand improves.

Asian Metal: Tungsten market continued to be dull in 2012, and what’s your opinion on the future market?

Liao：After the Chinese Spring Festival holiday, tungsten concentrate prices moved up slightly, and the downstream products prices increased accordingly, which was mainly pushed up by the optimistic attitudes on the future market. The real demand did not recover. In the recent days, owing to the few buying activities, the tungsten raw materials prices eased, which were around RMB115,000-118,000/t (USD283-290/mtu). The trading volume was small in the spot market. Most of the market participants hold wait-and-see attitudes now. For the industry combined several important downstream industries such as construction, machinery, processing, we believe that the market is expected to recover in this year. It is expected that the tungsten raw material’ price will move up slowly.

Asian Metal: What kind of factors can stimulate the ferrotungsten market to rebound?

Liao：Ferrotungsten market rebound mainly depends on the change of the economic recovery and the domestic and overseas markets’ demand recovery. Second, government should crack down on smuggling. We believe that these two factors could push the ferrotungsten market gradually pick up.

Asian Metal: What advantages do your company have? Please share with us about the listing progress of your company.

Liao：JXTC achieved rapid development in recent years and has formed four major nonferrous metals industries. Tungsten industry is an integrated industrial chain covering tungsten concentrate processing and cemented carbide production. Main export products include APT, AMT, BTO, YTO, high-end tungsten powder, high-end tungsten carbide powder, hard-face materials, spraying materials and NC coating blade. Rare earth industry is a relatively chain of rare earth ore processing and deep-processing of rare earth products. Main export products include rare earth salts, oxides, metals and hydrogen storage materials. Nickel-cobalt industry is still in initial phase and the company mainly importing nickel-cobalt materials and exporting separated and process cobalt products like high quality cobaltosic oxide, cobalt salts and powder. The secondary metals industry has experienced rapid development in recent years. The company imports scrap copper wire, substandard copper, raw copper and electric copper and process these materials to produce copper products with various specifications. These products have been supplied to users at home and abroad and got a favorable reception from them.

Jiangxi Rare Earth & Rare Metals Tungsten Group Imp & Exp Co., Ltd. appreciates support and care from all clients and aims to expand businesses with concerted efforts. With the principle of honesty and mutual benefit, we will strengthen contact and cooperation with partners. We welcome your visit.

Asian Metal: Thanks very much for your time and wish your company better development!

Liao：Thank you.