Shiu Wing, Hong Kong’s sole steelmaker, eyes return to green ‘roots’ as China’s carbon neutral goals create new opportunities

The 65-year-old steelmaker plans to produce 700,000 tonnes of recycled steel a year by 2025 and expand its presence in the Greater Bay Area

We have been in the recycled steel industry from the very beginning, executive says

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The Shiu Wing Steel plant at Tuen Mun. Photo: KY Cheng

Published: 8:30am, 14 Nov 2022

Shiu Wing Steel, Hong Kong’s first and only steel-rolling mill, will “go back to its roots” to produce recycled steel to meet growing demand created by China’s green ambitions in Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) development zone.

The 65-year-old steelmaker plans to build an electric-arc furnace at its plant in Tuen Mun to produce 700,000 tonnes of recycled steel a year by 2025 and expand its presence in the GBA, Dario Pong, Shiu Wing’s executive director, said in an interview.

The construction steel market in the development zone, which comprises Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities in Guangzhou province, is estimated at 20 to 25 million metric tonnes a year, which is huge compared with Hong Kong’s market of 1.2 million tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes a year.

“We hope to make the decision [to build the furnace] next year. We need about two years to build and then need about 10 years to recover that investment,” Pong said.

Dario Pong, Shiu Wing’s executive director. Photo: KY Cheng

Shiu Wing’s investment plan follows China’s decarbonisation goals set out at the 2020 United Nations General Assembly, where it pledged to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060.