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Key takeaways:
The agreement was a notable step forward in VinMetal’s ambitions to establish itself as a major participant in Vietnam’s steel industry, less than a year after the company was formed.
Under the agreement, the parties agreed to cooperate on end-to-end technological support across the steelmaking process chain, covering ironmaking, steel production and finished steel rolling. The companies also agreed to collaborate on workforce training and maintenance, following integration.
VinMetal announced plans for the industrial steel production complex following its launch on October 6, 2025, with an initial charter capital of 10 trillion Vietnamese Dong ($380 million) from shareholders.
Just one month later, the company raised its capital to 15 trillion Dong, putting the company on par with some of Vietnam’s largest steelmakers despite it being a relatively new entrant to the sector.
The complex was expected to produce both long and flat steel products to serve domestic industrial and infrastructure demand, as well as export markets. But the company had previously indicated that output would primarily support internal demand within Vingroup.
Phase one of the project was planned to deliver production capacity for 5 million tonnes per year, with completion scheduled for 2027.
While some market participants expressed skepticism over the timeline, with one source describing it as “quite ambitious,” another noted that VinMetal has already begun engaging steelmaking raw material suppliers to assess potential supply availability.
Market reactions to the MoU have been mixed. Some described it as an important early milestone and others cautioned that the project remained at a preliminary stage.
“[VinMetal] needs high-quality steel to produce [Vingroup’s] cars and other high value-added products, so I think this is a good choice,” a Vietnamese trader told Fastmarkets.
But another Vietnam-based industry source said that the MoU represented only an initial step, adding that “nothing much has been done yet” and that it would take “at least one-and-a-half years to see the effect [on the scrap market].”
Despite this, concerns persisted among mill sources, with one noting that the speed and financial backing from Vingroup could pose “a big challenge” for existing producers.
At the same time, some market sources cautioned that rising raw material costs resulting from the Middle East conflict could weigh on VinMetal’s ambitions.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel scrap, H2, Japan-origin import, cfr Vietnam, was $395-400 per tonne on May 8, up by $60-63 per tonne from $332-340 per tonne before the conflict on February 27.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for deep-sea bulk cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam, was $395-405 per tonne on the same day, up by $40 per tonne over the same period.
Want to learn how scrap metals and recyclable materials are driving the circular economy? Explore our scrap and secondary hub for more.
Meanwhile, Vietnam continued to push ahead with infrastructure investment and industrial expansion despite persistent concerns over regional steel overcapacity. In February this year, the Vietnamese government announced plans to reduce reliance on imports by boosting domestic production of specialized, value-added steel products.
For Primetals Technologies, the agreement adds to its footprint in Vietnam’s growing steel sector. The company signed a strategic partnership with Vietnam-based conglomerate Xuân Thiện Group on December 15, 2025, to develop two advanced electric-arc furnace (EAF) green steel production lines in Ninh Bình province, to supply the automotive and defense-grade steel markets.
Fastmarkets understood from industry sources that Primetals’ partnership with VinMetal for the Ha Tinh steel complex would probably adopt a blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route, rather than an EAF-based configuration.
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