Cambodia's General Administration of Customs recently released a report, in the first four months of this year, Cambodia's steel imports amounted to 129.04 million US dollars, accounting for 1.63% of Cambodia's total imports, an increase of 7.78%. More relevant data shows that Cambodia's apparent steel consumption (ASU) is 450,000 tons in 2019 and 270,000 tons in 2020. However, some scholars believe that this apparent consumption is lower than the country's actual data.

Cambodia joined ASEAN in 1999, but a protracted civil war made it the last Southeast Asian country to join. After Cambodia achieved political stability at the end of the last century, it began to pay more attention to the country's economic development. Although Cambodia's economy has maintained steady growth in recent years, the country remains one of the least developed countries in ASEAN. Cambodia's GDP ranks third from the bottom among ASEAN countries, contributing less than 1% to ASEAN's GDP, and its per capita GDP is the lowest among ASEAN countries.

In 2021, Cambodia's total population will be 16.95 million, accounting for about 2.5% of ASEAN's total population. Cambodia's working-age population has been increasing in recent years, and the country is still in the early stages of its demographic dividend. It is expected that the gradual entry of Cambodia's young population into the labor market is expected to help the country's industrial development and economic growth.

The steel industry is not an important industry in Cambodia. According to Yos Monirath, director general of the Minerals Bureau of Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy, there are currently three steel production plants in Cambodia that produce finished steel by recycling metal waste. They are Hong Teck Sein (Cambodia) Steel Co., LTD., with an annual output of 500,000 tons of straight and disc bars and wires, General Steel International (Cambodia) Co., LTD., and another company whose official name is unknown.

(Photo from Internet)

The construction industry is the largest steel industry in Cambodia

Construction, garment manufacturing, tourism and agriculture are the four key industries supporting Cambodia's economic growth. Among them, Cambodia's largest steel industry is the construction industry.

In recent years, Cambodia's infrastructure construction has advanced rapidly, and although it has slowed down for a while, many major projects are still progressing as planned. The Cambodian government believes that in the process of economic development, it is essential to improve the logistics system and strengthen the construction of the transportation industry. Cambodia has actively built roads, more than doubling the total length of its roads between 2005 and 2020, reaching 64,883 km in 2020. In recent years, Cambodia's infrastructure construction funds have come from the investment related to the "Belt and Road" Initiative on the one hand, and from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, as well as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and other relevant investment support.

At present, Cambodia is politically stable, has a large young workforce, and has signed several regional and sub-regional trade agreements, creating favorable investment conditions. These conditions have increased Cambodia's attractiveness for foreign direct investment, which has helped its steel and related industries.

Auto parts have become the industry with the best development prospects

According to Cambodia's Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025 and Economic Recovery Plan 2021-2023, the automotive industry has been identified as a priority development sector to help Cambodia achieve post-pandemic economic recovery and long-term economic growth. A roadmap for the development of the automotive industry in Cambodia has been drafted and is being discussed and reviewed by stakeholders and investors who support the draft.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Office believes that the auto parts industry is the industry with the best development prospects in Cambodia. The industry is growing, attracting tier 1 auto parts suppliers such as Japan's Denso and Sumitomo to set up operations in Cambodia. Most of the auto parts produced in Cambodia are used for export trade, with annual exports of related products exceeding US $200 million (2015-2019).

As of the end of 2021, Cambodia has two registered car manufacturing plants with a total investment of US $20 million, located in Svay Rieng province and Phnom Penh City, the country's capital; There are seven registered auto parts factories with a total investment of US $41 million, four of which are located in the country's border town of Poipet and three in Sihanoukville, Svay Rieng and Phnom Penh. According to data released by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) on June 17, 2022, four car brands - Southeast Motors, China FAW, Dongfeng Motors and MG - plan to open car assembly plants in Cambodia, with an investment of about $15.6 million.

In addition, Cambodia's motorcycle market is particularly prosperous, attracting global motorcycle assembly plants and parts manufacturers. Currently, Cambodia produces more than 400,000 motorcycles a year. Cambodia's bicycle assembly industry has attracted investment from world-renowned bicycle manufacturers and parts factories, most of which are aimed at building factories in the Special economic Zone of Bavet in Svay Rieng Province. There are currently five bicycle assembly companies in Cambodia. Cambodia is the largest bicycle exporter in ASEAN and the fifth largest in the world. In 2020, the value of bicycles exported from Cambodia to major international markets totaled more than $533 million, an increase of 27% compared to 2019.

There are two main iron ore areas

Cambodia currently has two major iron ore distribution areas, one in the Phnom Deck region and the other in Preah Vihear province. According to the data released by the General Administration of Mineral Resources of Cambodia, the total iron ore reserves in the Phnom Deck area are estimated to be 5 million to 6 million tons, while the northern region of the country may have 2.5 million to 4.8 million tons of high-grade iron ore reserves.

Cambodia's coal-producing region is located on the east side of the Tonle San River in Tin province, with 27 proven coal seams and 7 million tons of coal reserves.

According to the information collected from the World Steel Association's field visits, Cambodia currently imports a large amount of steel mainly from Vietnam and Thailand. At present, Cambodia's annual steel demand is estimated at 2.5 million tons, and this figure is expected to continue to grow, supported by the development of the country's automotive and parts industry.