Myanmar touted as market for building material makers
20-09-2012
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Demands for building materials in Myanmar are running high while its domestic production is far from quenching that thirst, said an executive of C.T Group that organized the seminar as part of the International Exhibition of Construction, Building Materials, Housing and Interior Decor 2012 (Vietbuild 2012). The event took place from September 13 to 17 at Phu Tho Sports Complex in HCMC.
Phan Thanh Nhon, general director of C.T Myanmar, a member company of C.T Group, said the demand for building materials in Myanmar is huge given an uptrend in infrastructure development in this country in the coming time.
Nhon said Vietnamese enterprises should fill the gaps of poor production capacity and limited types of building materials, or else they would be surpassed by other regional countries that are also eyeing this new market.
According to a market research of C.T Myanmar, the demand for cement in Myanmar is some 5.35 million tons a year. Domestically-made products only meet 65% of such demand, and the rest is imported from Thailand and China.
As for steel and iron, the country needs about 500,000 tons each year, while the domestic producers can only supply 1%. The remainder is imported from other countries, including Vietnam.
Of US$604 million worth of building materials imported by Myanmar in 2011, Vietnamese goods only made up US$23 million.
Speaking at the seminar, Nhon said his company is willing to serve as a bridge connecting Vietnamese businesses with this new market.
Nguyen Quang Cung, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association for Building Materials, said local building material producers should look for opportunities to export their products to other countries in the region, which will help them tackle the current problems.
In late August, the Ministry of Construction had a meeting with construction materials producers to seek ways to remove their difficulties, especially the problem of high inventories.
Statistics of the Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Association show that building material makers are struggling with mounting inventories though they have already cut down production.
The cement sector currently has an inventory level of some 1.5 million tons, while unsold steel products are put at 400,000 tons.
Paving stone factories are designed to produce around ten million square meters per year, but they are currently running at only 70% of designed capacity. Some 40 million square meters of paving stone is in stock now.
Similarly, four local float glass plants are stockpiling some 265,000 tons, equivalent to five months of production.
Do Thi Loan, general secretary of the HCMC Real Estate Association, said prices of locally-made building materials are still higher than imported products. Many property project owners wanting to reduce costs have used building materials imported from China with prices 20-30% lower.
