OREANDA-NEWS. May 17, 2012. During his stay in Korea for attending World Steel Association council meeting, Baosteel Group Co., Ltd., chairman Xu Lejiang goes to Howa Trade Seoul Office especially and has a cordial discussion with the firm's Chinese and Korea employees, reported the press-centre of Baosteel.  

Since the global financial crisis, Korean steel downstream industries receive heavy impact and demands are greatly reduced. At the same time, Korea's domestic steel production undergoes dramatic growth. In the increasingly fierce market competition, Howa Trade employees face the challenges and overcome difficulties.

With safeguarding the long-term cooperation relation with strategic customers as the centre, with developing strategic product and improving the structure of the varieties as the main line and with enhancing service and creating value as the base, they achieve good results. For many years, the steel sales in South Korean market ranks the first among Baosteel overseas exporting countries. The proportion of sales of high value-added products is rising. Baosteel's first overseas steel processing and distribution center also begins construction recently in South Korea.

After listening to the report of the Seoul office, Xu Lejiang says that in such a mature market and steel power as South Korea, Howa Trading's excellent results are commendable. He points out that the current market environment is very severe, the steel industry is more seriously affected now than when the global financial crisis first broke out.

We should make long-term and persistent preparation for dealing with the era of meager profit. In Baosteel's achieving fundamental transformation from manufacturing-centred to customer-centred, overseas front line marketing staff has a long way to go. Xu Lejiang says that during the visit to Seoul office, he feels the staff's enthusiasm and he is very satisfied and very moved. "I hope everyone can enjoy healthy and happy life, apart from working hard."