Macquarie on Asia Steel

Asian Steel.pdf

22 January 2007 52页

The Asian steel sector looks primed for consolidation. It is highly fragmented and
boasts excellent long-term growth prospects. Asian companies have strong
financial positions and their managements seem to recognise both the threats
and opportunities arising from consolidation. Western companies have few
assets in Asia. Valuations look reasonable.
We see several Asian companies – Angang, Baoshan, Nippon Steel, POSCO
and Tata Steel – emerging among the global leaders in the next few years.
Other companies look vulnerable and to us seem likely to be bid for or to look for
strategic tie-ups. We put JFE Holdings, Kobe Steel, Maruichi Steel, Bluescope,
G Steel, NSM and many Chinese companies in this group.

Inside
The urge to merge 2
A target rich environment 6
Unparalleled growth prospects 10
Valuations look reasonable 11
Companies look ready to spend 13
Are Asian companies vulnerable? 16
Focus on China 20
Focus on Japan 25
Focus on Australia 29
Selected recent M&A deals 30
Company profiles 31