Vietnam trade ministry places embargo on steel plants

 Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked provincial authorities to stop licensing new steel projects with the industry group saying there is a huge surplus in production capacity, reports Lao Dong newspaper.
 Vietnam Steel Association says existing steel plants are capable of producing six million tonnes of steel billets a year, but last year they operated at about 60% of their capacity. The country's steel output has already reached nine million tonnes a year, surpassing local demand by more than three million tonnes.
 Lao Dong also reported that steel stock piles are growing because of slow sales. The Vietnam Steel Corp., for instance, sold 169,000 tonnes of steel in April, down 3,500 tonnes from March. Steel consumption as fallen partly due to cuts in public investment, the paper said.
 The Ministry of Industry and Trade stated around 100 steel projects have been licensed in the country and it was high time to revise the licensing process for new ones. It also said it will request the government to revoke the licenses of all steel projects that have been delayed without justification.Jordan Flight Luxe