Executive Interviews

Asian Metal: Good afternoon, Mr. Sirikulpisut. Welcome to this interview with Asian Metal. Please give us a brief introduction to your company.

Mr. Sirikulpisut: Thank you. Founded in 1984, Huang Changfa Flat Steel Trading Co. is located in Chonburi Province in eastern Thailand. The company is engaged in both steel trading and processing, covering products such as HRC, steel plate, and section steel. Our trading volume reached around 30,000 tons in 2024. We aim to maintain 30,000 tons in 2025 and increase it to 48,000 tons in 2026. Steel trading accounts for approximately 60% of our business, while processing represents about 40%. At present, we operate eight laser cutting machines, ten slitting machines, three bending machines, and four flattening machines.

Asian Metal: In addition to domestic materials, do you import steel? Which countries do you import from?

Mr. Sirikulpisut: For HRC, we mainly cooperate with domestic steel mills, with a small portion imported from India. There are three HRC steel mills in Thailand: Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), G Steel Public Company Limited (G Steel), and GJ Steel Public Company Limited (GJ Steel), with the latter two being acquired by Nippon Steel Corporation in March 2022. For steel plate, we source materials from China, including Jingye Yingkou Steel, Puyang Steel, and Ansteel. However, we mainly purchase through importers rather than importing directly.

Asian Metal: How has the production of local HRC steel mills performed this year? Has there been any significant change compared with 2024?

Mr. Sirikulpisut: In 2024, Thailand’s steel production reached approximately 6 million tons, and it is projected to increase moderately to 6.4 million tons in 2025. However, the growth is mainly concentrated in construction steel, while output of flat steel products such as HRC is expected to decline by around 26% year on year. The capacity utilization rate of steel mills remains low, at only 30%–35%. Local steel mills mainly focus on meeting domestic demand and rarely export. G Steel and GJ Steel produce HRC using steel scrap, while SSI relies on steel billet. Steel scrap is mainly sourced domestically, whereas steel billet is imported. This year, the Thai baht has strengthened against the U.S. dollar, resulting in lower import costs.

Asian Metal: How is downstream demand this year? What is your outlook for the first quarter of 2026?

Mr. Sirikulpisut: Due to the decline in overseas investment since the beginning of this year, few new projects have been launched. Meanwhile, banks have tightened lending to control risks, leading to constrained capital flows and weaker purchasing activity among end users. Downstream demand fell by about 10% in the first three quarters compared with last year. Demand may improve in the fourth quarter as the rainy season ends, but the increase is expected to be limited, at around 5%. We believe demand in early 2026 will lack momentum and is likely to remain broadly stable compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.

Asian Metal: How have your clients’ purchasing activities changed this year?

Mr. Sirikulpisut: Our downstream clients are mainly from the construction industry, with a small portion from the automotive and machinery sectors. Purchasing activity has declined this year, and clients are maintaining inventory levels at about 50% of last year’s level. We aim to increase our average monthly sales volume to 4,000 tons in 2026 from around 2,500 tons in 2025, which means we need to expand our customer base.

Asian Metal: HRC prices have continued to decline since the beginning of this year, falling by around THB2,100/t (USD67/t), or about 11%. What do you see as the main reasons for this downward trend, and how do you forecast prices in the first quarter of 2026?

Mr. Sirikulpisut: Prices are fundamentally determined by supply and demand. Although steel mill output has declined this year, demand has weakened even more. In addition, prices in China, which serves as a bellwether for the international steel market, have continued to fall, undermining confidence among domestic market participants. At the same time, traders are eager to conclude deals to ease capital pressure caused by tight liquidity. We expect prices to decline further to around THB16,500/t (USD523/t) by the end of March next year, from the current level of THB17,600/t (USD558/t).

Asian Metal: How do you plan to enhance your competitiveness over the next two years?

Mr. Sirikulpisut: Traditional steel trading is facing intense price competition and is increasingly difficult to sustain. We believe that high-quality service is the foundation of long-term development. Therefore, we plan to actively introduce advanced equipment to further improve our service capabilities. Most of our downstream customers are equipment suppliers cooperating with government projects, and demand from this segment remains relatively stable.